ReviewLaparoscopic gastrectomy for gastric cancer: Current evidences

- The laparoscopic approach for gastric cancer is a topic that remains controversial.
- This article provides the current knowledge of laparoscopic treatment for gastric cancer patients.
- Laparoscopic gastrectomy represents a demanding surgical procedure. However, the benefits of this approach are out of question.
- Laparoscopic gastric cancer approach provides an oncologic validity and safety for early gastric cancer patients.
- The near future will tell us if such demanding laparoscopic procedures will be translated into real survival benefit.

Nowadays, our understanding of gastric cancer has been improved. The major hope is to increase the survival rates of this aggressive, enigmatic and heterogeneous disease, especially in Western population. Over the past decades, conventional surgery has been the cornerstone of treatment for non metastatic gastric cancer patients. Adequate gastrectomy is recommended for at least T2-4a tumors, while T4b tumors require resection of involved structures. However, in the era of advanced technology, minimally invasive surgical approaches are in the top of the scientific interest. Notably, the laparoscopic approach for gastric cancer is a topic that remain controversial. In this review, we summarize the standard of care according to the current evidences and we provide the latest scientific information assessing safety and efficacy of laparoscopic gastrectomy for gastric cancer.