The efficacy of pre-operative laparoscopy in the staging for gastric cancer
- Author:
Kandasami Palayan
- Publication Type:Review
- Keywords:
Gastric cancer, staging, laparoscopy
- From:International e-Journal of Science, Medicine and Education
2012;6(supp1):S103-S105
- CountryMalaysia
- Language:English
-
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.
