Background: In early gastric cancer (EGC) cases with lymphovascular invasion or positive vertical margins after endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD), additional radical gastrectomy is performed on principle. However, an additional surgery is often difficult to consider if the surgical approach itself is challenging or the patient refuses surgery. In such cases, only close surveillance is performed without additional surgical procedures. This study aimed to examine the difference in clinical prognosis of EGC cases with lymphovascular invasion or positive vertical margins after ESD either with or without surgery.
Methods: We retrospectively studied 83 patients with lymphovascular invasion or positive vertical margins after ESD from July 2005 to November 2013.
Results: Of the 83 patients, 45 (54.2%) underwent radical additional gastrectomy (surgical group) and 38 (45.8%) were under close surveillance without surgical or endoscopic treatments (close surveillance group.) The cancer-free survival period was 78.3 ± 3.4 months in the surgical group and 64.5 ± 4.6 months in the close surveillance group. The recurrence rates did not significantly differ between the 2 groups, at 7.9% in the surgical group and 6.7% in the non-surgical group.
Conclusions: Close surveillance may be suggested as an option for EGC patients for whom a surgical approach is difficult, who exhibit a positive vertical margin after ESD, and who have no lymphovascular or deep submucosa invasion after ESD.