A Randomized Controlled Trial of Vagus Nerve-preserving Distal Gastrectomy Versus Conventional Distal Gastrectomy for Postoperative Quality of Life in Early Stage Gastric Cancer Patients

Objective: To compare the postoperative quality of life of vagus nerve preserving distal gastrectomy (VPG) vs conventional distal gastrectomy (CG) in patients with early-stage gastric cancer. Design: Randomized controlled clinical trial. Setting: Large tertiary comprehensive cancer center in Korea. Participants: One hundred sixty-three patients with early gastric cancer 18 years of age or older expected to undergo curative gastric resection. Intervention: Patients were randomized 1: 1 to VPG (n = 85) or CG (n = 78). Main outcome measures: European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) gastric module (STO22). Results: Patients assigned to VPG showed less diarrhea 3 and 12 months after surgery (P = 0.040 and 0.048, respectively) and less appetite loss at 12 months (P = 0.011) compared with those assigned to CG. In both groups, fatigue, anxiety, eating restriction, and body image deteriorated at 3 months after surgery and did not regain baseline levels 12 months after surgery. There were no significant differences between the 2 groups in cancer recurrence and death over 5 years of follow-up. Conclusions: Early gastric cancer patients undergoing VPG reported significantly less diarrhea and appetite loss at 12 months postsurgery compared with those undergoing CG, with no differences in long-term clinical outcomes. VPG may improve the quality of life after gastrectomy in early gastric cancer patients compared with CG.