The efficacy of pre-operative laparoscopy in the staging for gastric cancer

ABSTRACT

The only potential curative therapy for gastric cancer is the resection of both the tumor and the regional lymph nodes at the early stage of the disease. The majority of patients with gastric cancer in Malaysia have an advanced disease at initial diagnosis, and curative surgery is possible in less than 20% of operated cases. Acurate preoperative staging is crucial in determining the most suitable therapy and avoiding unnecessary attempts at curative surgery. While computed tomography remains as the most widely used imaging modality for gastric cancer staging, its ability to detect local invasion, peritoneal and liver metastases is limited. In the recent years laparoscopy has become an important component in the staging algorithm of gastric cancer. The aim of this review is to evaluate the efficacy of routine preoperative laparoscopic staging in the management of gastric cancer, and in particular describe the Malaysian experience.