The Role of Staging Laparoscopy in Stage IV Gastric Cancer Patients

Evidence regarding staging laparoscopy (SL) for clinical metastatic (cM+) gastric cancer (GC) patients is limited. Recently, an Italian Gastric Cancer Research Group (GIRCG) study showed SL changed peritoneal status in over 20% of cases. This study aimed to evaluate SL's role in cM+ patients and refine its indications.

Clinical data of cM+ GC patients who underwent SL between 2010 and 2022 at nine GIRCG centers were retrospectively analyzed. The primary outcome was SL's yield, defined as peritoneal status changed by SL over all SLs.

Among 182 cM+ patients who received SL, 38 (20.9%) had SL-findings changing peritoneal status. Notably, 10.1% of cases with preoperative signs of carcinomatosis had no peritoneal disease, while 46.3% with extraperitoneal disease alone had peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) at SL. Thirty-one patients (17.0%) underwent R0 resection: 17 (54.8%) with PC, 3 (9.7%) with liver metastases, 4 (12.9%) with PC and nodal metastases, 2 (6.4%) with lung, and 1 (3.2%) with bone metastases. Seventeen patients with suspected preoperative PC underwent curative treatment: 9 had peritoneal disease ruled out by SL, while the other 8 had limited PC, allowing R0 resection. Logistic regression revealed an inverse correlation between diffuse histotype and absence of PC at SL in patients with peritoneal involvement at imaging (p = 0.02).

SL aids in directing cM+ GC patients to appropriate treatment, with a 20.9% yield. For those with peritoneal involvement at imaging, SL helps identify candidates for curative treatment. In patients with extraperitoneal disease, SL should be considered to assess potential radical strategies.