Although decreasing in incidence worldwide, gastric cancer remains a major public health risk, especially in the East, where it is the second most lethal malignant neoplasm. Authors Hwang and colleagues add to our understanding of the feasibility and safety of the laparoscopic approach to resection for early gastric cancers.
In their large series of nonobese patients with clinically staged early gastric cancer, no patient had preoperative evidence of lymph node disease or distant metastases. Their approach includes an aggressive approach to lymph node retrieval for T2 lesions.