Laparoscopic versus open gastrectomy for advanced gastric cancer: A meta-analysis based on high-quality retrospective studies and clinical randomized trials

Summary Background Additional studies comparing laparoscopic gastrectomy (LG) with open gastrectomy (OG) have been published, and the meta-analysis of this subject should be improved. Methods Randomized controlled trials and high-quality retrospective studies, which compared LG and OG for advanced gastric cancer (AGC) treatment and were published in English and Chinese between January 2000 and February 2017, were selected through PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library database by two reviewers independently. The Jadad Composite Scale and the Newcastle–Ottawa scale were used to evaluate the quality and risk of bias for all included studies. Operative outcomes, postoperative outcomes, postoperative morbidity, harvested lymph nodes and 5-year overall survival (OS) were considered as primary endpoints and were compared. Results Fifteen studies including a total of 9337 cases (5000 in LG and 4337 in OG) were enrolled. LG showed longer operative time, less intraoperative blood loss, and quicker recovery after operations. Based on the subgroup analysis of the sample size, however, there was no difference in operative time between LG and OG. The number of harvested lymph nodes, 5-year OS, and postoperative morbidity were similar. Conclusion LG can be performed as an alternative to OG for AGC, with quicker postoperative recovery and comparable safety and efficacy.