A comparative study on endoscopic submucosal dissection and laparoscopy-assisted radical gastrectomy in the treatment of early gastric carcinoma

Purpose: To compare the clinical efficacy and safety of endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) and laparoscopy-assisted radical gastrectomy (LARG) in the treatment of early gastric carcinoma (EGC) with different risks of lymph node metastasis. Methods: The clinical data of 194 EGC patients who underwent ESD (ESD group, n=58) or LARG (LARG group, n=136) in our hospital from January 2014 to January 2016 were collected. The baseline data, pathological features of tumor, perioperative indexes and long- and short-term complications were compared between the two groups, the overall survival (OS) rate of patients was recorded through follow-up, and the tumor-free survival (TFS) rate was compared after ESD and LARG for EGC with different risks of lymph node metastasis. Results: The general clinical features were comparable between the two groups of patients, and there was no perioperative death. The pathological features of the tumor had no statistically significant differences between the two groups (p>0.05). The operation time in ESD group (73.57 +/- 21.30 min) was significantly shorter than that in LARG group (159.22 +/- 39.40 min) (p<0.001), and the time of first ambulation after operation in ESD group (1.6 +/- 0.8 d) was also overtly shorter than that in LARG group (3.5 +/- 1.7 d) (p<0.001). Postoperatively, no drainage tube was placed in the ESD group, while it was placed for 5.7 +/- 2.4 days on average in the LARG group. The time of first flatus after operation, time of first ha- uid diet after operation, and total hospitalization time in the ESD group were significantly compared with the LARG group (p<0.001). The incidence rate of short-term complications after surgery was 10.3% and 7.4% in the two groups, (p=0.570), while long-term complications were 17.6% (9/51) and 20.9% (24/115) in the two groups (p=0.631). The in situ tumor recurrence by the end of follow-up was 3.92% (2/51) and 0.87% (1/115) in the two groups, while the ectopic recurrence rate was 5.89% (3/51) and 0.87% (1/115) (p=0.173, p=0.087). OS survival was 96.1% (49/51) and 97.4% (112/115) in the two groups (p=0.751). The postoperative TFS of EGC patients with a low risk of lymph node metastasis was 93.8% (30/32) and 98.6% (70/71) in the two groups, again without significant difference (p=0.197). The postoperative TFS of EGC patients with a high risk of lymph node metastasis was 84.2% (16/19) and 97.7% (43/44) in the two groups, with statistically significant difference (log-rank, p=0.034). Conclusions: ESD is characterized by small trauma, rapid postoperative recovery, postoperative recurrence and survival comparable to those after surgical operation and high safety for EGC with a low risk of lymph node metastasis. LARG can reduce the postoperative recurrence rate of EGC in patients with high risk of lymph node metastasis.