Many retrospective and cohort studies have shown that laparoscopic total gastrectomy (LTG) has advantages of less trauma, quicker recovery and better incision than open total gastrectomy, and is not inferior to laparotomy in safety and the short-and long-term outcomes, so it has been widely applied. However there is still a lack of high level evidence-based basis. At present, several prospective multicenter clinical studies are being carried out in China, Japan and South Korea which have high incidence of gastric cancer to demonstrate the safety and feasibility of LTG and evaluate its long-term outcomes as well. A multicenter randomized controlled clinical trial comparing the safety of laparoscopic and open radical gastrectomy (CLASS-02 Research) conducted by Professor Sun Yihong, Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University, is under way. The subjects of this study were the patients with clinical stage I, the lesion locating in the gastric body, gastric fundus, or the esophagogastric junction (not involving the cardia dentate line), who were expected to be treated with total gastrectomy. The primary outcome measures were early operative morbidity and mortality and the secondary outcome measures were early postoperative recovery course and postoperative hospital stay. It is believed that results of the study will provide a high level evidence-based basis for the safety of LTG. The ongoing JCOG-1401 study in Japan aims to assess the feasibility and safety of LTG and LAPG for the treatment of early gastric cancer. LTG (Roux-en-Y reconstruction) or LAPG (double-tract or jejunal interposition reconstruction) will be performed in patients with clinical stage Ⅰ gastric cancer in this study. The primary endpoint of the study is the incidence of anastomotic leakage, and the secondary endpoints are proportion of patients converted to open surgery, the time to the first flatus, analgesic requirement, postoperative body temperature, the overall survival and relapse-free survival. The follow-up time is at least 5 years, and the results will also effectively evaluate the long-term efficacy of LTG and LAPG in the treatment for early gastric cancer. No.10 lymph nodes dissection of D2 total gastrectomy is a major difficulty in LTG. Japanese JCOG-0110 study has showed that for proximal gastric cancer patients without involvement of the greater curvature of the stomach, routine splenectomy for No.10 lymph nodes dissection is not recommended. In this regard, Professor Huang Changming, Union Hospital of Fujian Medical University, led the ongoing CLASS-04 study to evaluate the safety, feasibility and clinical efficacy of laparoscopic No.10 lymph node dissection with spleen preservation for patients with locally advanced gastric cancer locating in the upper part of the stomach. The ongoing CLASS-02 and JCOG-1401 studies will answer whether LTG is suitable for the treatment of early gastric cancer. We believe that in the absence of high level evidence-based basis, LTG should be applied cautiously to advanced gastric cancer, and LTG for early gastric cancer patients should also be operated by experienced surgeons.

Stomach neoplasms; Laparoscopic total gastrectomy; Clinical research