Key clinical point: Laparoscopic distal gastrectomy was surgically and oncologically noninferior to open distal gastrectomy in patients with locally advanced gastric cancer throughout the 5-year follow-up period.
Major finding: Patients who underwent laparoscopic vs open distal gastrectomy had a significantly lower late complication rate (6.5% vs 11.0%; P = .01), but similar 5-year overall survival (88.9% vs 88.7%; P = .30) and relapse-free survival (79.5% vs 81.1%; P = .658) rates.
Study details: This study reports the 5-year follow-up results of the KLASS-02 trial that included 974 patients with locally advanced gastric cancer who underwent R0 resection by laparoscopic (n = 492) or open (n = 482) distal gastrectomy.
Disclosures: This study was sponsored by the National R&D Program for Cancer Control (NRDPCC), Ministry of Health and Welfare, Republic of Korea, and Ethicon Endo-Surgery, a Johnson & Johnson Company. Some authors reported receiving grants or personal fees from various sources, including NRDPCC and Ethicon Endo-Surgery.
Source: Son SY et al. Laparoscopic vs open distal gastrectomy for locally advanced gastric cancer: 5-year outcomes of the KLASS-02 randomized clinical trial. JAMA Surg. 2022 (Jul 20). Doi: 10.1001/jamasurg.2022.2749