The current status and future perspectives of laparoscopic surgery for gastric cancer

Gastric cancer is most common cancer in Korea. Surgery is still the main axis of treatment. Due to early detection of gastric cancer, the innovation of surgical instruments and technological advances, gastric cancer treatment is now shifting to a new era. One of the most astonishing changes is that minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is becoming more dominant treatment for early gastric cancer. These MIS are represented by endoscopic resection, laparoscopic surgery, robotic surgery, single-port surgery and natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery. Among them, laparoscopic gastrectomy is most actively performed in the field of surgery. Laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy (LADG) for early gastric cancer (EGC) has already gained popularity in terms of the short-term outcomes including patient's quality of life. We only have to wait for the long-term oncologic results of Korean Laparoscopic Gastrointestinal Surgery Study Group. Upcoming top issues following oncologic safety of LADG are function-preserving surgery for EGC, application of laparoscopy to advanced gastric cancer and sentinel lymph node navigation surgery. In the aspect of technique, laparoscopic surgery at present could reproduce almost the whole open procedures. However, the other fields mentioned above need more evidences and experiences. All these new ideas and attempts provide technical advances, which will minimize surgical insults and maximize the surgical outcomes and the quality of life of patients.