Results of local resection with regional lymphadenectomy for early gastric cancer

Background: In 1999, the authors reported preliminary results of local resection with regional lymphadenectomy(LR) for early gastric cancer. Methods: Twenty-four patients underwent LR until May 2000. Laparoscopic techniques were recently applied. The dissected area for lymphadenectomy depended on the lymphatic flow from the tumor. Local gastric resection was performed with a 2 cm cancer-free margin. Among the 24 patients, 14 who had been followed up for more than 1 year were eligible for the nutritional study, and the nutritional parameters were compared with those for patients undergoing pylorus-preserving gastrectomy (PPG). Results: Twenty-two patients not receiving additional gastrectomy needed no restriction of food intake and had neither postgastrectomy symptons nor recurrence. All nutritional parameters remained stable between the preoperative and the subseqeunt period. Nutritional superiority of LR over PPG was observed. Conclusions: For selected patients with early gastric cancer, LR can be a treatment of choice to provide a good quality of life.