鈴木 和光

BACKGROUND: Single-port surgery offers improved cosmesis but is technically demanding. The da Vinci™ SP (DVSP) system aims to overcome these challenges; however, rigorous data on the comparison between the DVSP system and the standard multi-port da Vinci™ Xi system (DVXi) are scarce. This study aimed to compare the short-term outcomes of the DVSP with those of the DVXi for robotic distal gastrectomy after adjusting for patient selection bias. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 311 patients undergoing robotic distal gastrectomy for gastric cancer between March 2023 and December 2024 at two institutions. Based on patient demographics and tumor characteristics, a 1:1 propensity score matching analysis was performed to mitigate bias. After matching, 36 patients in the DVSP group were compared with 36 patients in the DVXi group. Perioperative outcomes, pathological findings, and postoperative complications were analyzed. RESULTS: The DVSP group had significantly shorter median operative time (329 vs. 414 min, p < 0.001) and console time (261 vs. 332 min, p < 0.001). A significantly higher number of lymph nodes were retrieved in the DVSP group (mean 46 vs. 32, p = 0.04). The median postoperative stay exhibited a trend toward being shorter in the DVSP group (11 vs. 12 days, p = 0.08). No conversions to open or multi-port surgery occurred. The incidence of postoperative complications (Clavien-Dindo grade ≥ II) was comparable between the groups (8.3% vs. 16.7%, p = 0.48). CONCLUSIONS: In this study, single-port gastrectomy using the DVSP system was safe and feasible in the short-term outcomes compared with multi-port gastrectomy using the DVXi system.

BACKGROUND: Intracorporeal delta-shaped Billroth I (B-I) anastomosis following minimally invasive distal gastrectomy (DG) is a simple and highly reproducible gastroduodenostomy procedure. This study aimed to identify the technical pitfalls of this procedure and assess their influence on one-year outcomes. METHODS: This was a retrospective study including patients who underwent delta-shaped B-I anastomosis following minimally invasive DG at our institution between 2008 and 2022. Delta-shaped B-I anastomosis was performed by adhering to five fundamental elements. Data were collected from our prospectively maintained database and analyzed retrospectively. Intra- and postoperative complications were reviewed, and video analysis was performed to identify technical errors associated with these complications. One-year outcomes, including nutritional status and endoscopic findings, were compared between patients with and without complications within 30 days after surgery. RESULTS: A total of 749 patients were included in this study. A total of 36 operating surgeons were involved. Intraoperative anastomotic complications occurred in 0.8% of patients, mainly due to technical issues during linear stapling. Postoperative anastomosis-related complications occurred in 2.1% of patients, with anastomotic leakage, stricture, and delayed gastric emptying rates of 0.9%, 0.3%, and 0.9%, respectively. Most complications were managed conservatively or endoscopically. No late-onset strictures were observed at postoperative year 1, and no significant differences in nutritional and endoscopic findings were observed between patients with and without complications. CONCLUSION: When performed according to five fundamental technical principles, intracorporeal delta-shaped B-I anastomosis following minimally invasive DG proved to be a safe, reproducible procedure associated with favorable one-year outcomes.

A 76-year-old man underwent laparoscopic total gastrectomy for advanced proximal gastric cancer and was diagnosed as pT4aN2M0, pStage ⅢA. Three years postoperatively, abdominal CT revealed a 2-cm mass near the splenic hilum, and further evaluation led to a diagnosis of isolated lymph node recurrence of gastric cancer at the splenic hilum. A total of 11 courses of chemotherapy, including nivolumab combined with SOX regimen, were administered. The lesion remained localized with no new metastases, and surgical resection was planned. Robotic distal pancreatectomy was performed using the da VinciTM SP System. The postoperative course was uneventful, and the patient was discharged on postoperative day 10. Pathological examination confirmed metastatic adenocarcinoma. As of 4 months after surgery, the patient remains recurrence-free. We present this resected oligometastasis case with a review of the relevant literature.

PURPOSE: Reduced-port surgery has been utilized in gastric cancer surgery but is not predominantly used due to its high technical difficulty. A new single-port surgical robot named da Vinci™ SP System (DVSP) was launched and eventually approved for clinical use in Japan in November 2022. We initiated robotic gastrectomy for gastric cancer using DVSP in March 2023. Here, we report our initial experiences and assessments of the feasibility and safety of robotic gastrectomy for gastric cancer using DVSP. METHODS: This single-center retrospective study included 20 patients with gastric cancer who underwent robotic gastrectomy with DVSP from March 2023 to April 2024. The primary endpoint was the postoperative complication rate within 30 days postoperatively. Secondary endpoints were surgical outcomes, including intraoperative adverse events, operative time, blood loss, and the number of dissected nodes. RESULTS: Of the 20 patients, 6 (30.0%) were male. The median age was 74 years. Tumors in the middle to lower stomach were observed in 20 patients (100.0%), including 18 (90.0%) and 2 (10.0%) with clinical stages I and II diseases, respectively. All patients underwent distal gastrectomy. The postoperative complications of Clavien-Dindo grade ≥ II occurred in 3 (15%) patients. Intraoperative adverse events, including conversion to other approaches, were not observed. All patients underwent R0 resection. The median operative and console times were 289 and 240 min, respectively. The median blood loss was 11 mL with 50 dissected nodes. CONCLUSION: This study revealed the safe performance of robotic distal gastrectomy with standard lymphadenectomy for clinical stage I/II gastric cancer using DVSP.

BACKGROUND: Postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF) is one of the potentially serious complications after gastrectomy for gastric cancer (GC). Drain amylase level is a predictor of POPF in open and laparoscopic gastrectomy, but no study has focused on minimally invasive surgery (MIS), including robotic gastrectomy (RG). This study assesses the effect of drain amylase levels for POPF in MIS and develop a prediction model in the MIS era. METHODS: This single-institutional retrospective study, conducted from January 2011 to December 2021, included 1,353 who underwent standard MIS for GC. We placed a drain in all patients undergoing MIS gastrectomy and measured the drain amylase level on the first postoperative day (D1Amy). The predictive accuracy of D1Amy for POPF was assessed. Additionally, the entire cohort was randomly categorized into the training (1,048 patients) and validation sets (305 patients) to establish the nomogram. RESULTS: Of the 1353 patients, 530 underwent a robotic approach. POPF and intraabdominal infectious complications of Clavien-Dindo classification grade ≥ II were observed in 80 (5.9%) and 145 (10.7%) patients, respectively. Median D1Amy was 812 U/L. The receiver operating characteristic analysis of D1Amy for POPF revealed an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.888. Multivariate analysis revealed age, tumor location, splenectomy, and D1Amy as significant risk factors for POPF. The AUC of the nomogram was 0.8960, validated with AUC of 0.9259. CONCLUSIONS: We revealed the utility of D1Amy in predicting POPF in MIS gastrectomy. Furthermore, the nomogram, incorporating D1Amy and other clinical factors, was additionally used as a predictive model for POPF.

BACKGROUND: Advanced gastric cancer with gastric outlet obstruction (GOO) causes malnutrition and medication adherence issues, leading to a poor prognosis. We developed a novel multimodal, less invasive treatment approach for gastric cancer patients with symptomatic GOO: laparoscopic stomach-partitioning gastrojejunostomy (LSPGJ) combined with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC), followed by minimally invasive gastrectomy with reuse of gastrojejunostomy. This study is a retrospective analysis of the safety and feasibility of our treatment strategy. METHODS: In this single-institution retrospective study, we enrolled 54 patients (NAC group, n = 26; upfront gastrectomy group, n = 28) who achieved R0 resection through a minimally invasive approach between 2007 and 2020 and evaluated their short- and long-term outcomes. RESULTS: After LSPGJ, the Gastric Outlet Obstruction Scoring System score significantly improved (p < 0.001). The median relative dose intensity of NAC was 88.2%. Regarding short-term outcomes, there were no differences in postoperative complications, length of postsurgical hospital stay, and adjuvant chemotherapy administration. Although overall survival and relapse-free survival showed trends toward improvement in the NAC group, these differences were not statistically significant. The cumulative incidence curve for recurrence in the NAC group was significantly lower than that of the upfront gastrectomy group (p = 0.041). Recurrence and hematogenous metastasis were significantly lower in the NAC group (p = 0.031 and 0.041, respectively) than in the upfront gastrectomy group. A forest plot revealed that NAC yielded favorable outcomes, particularly for patients with a body mass index (BMI) < 18.5 kg/m2, cT4, or cN1. CONCLUSIONS: LSPGJ combined with NAC followed by minimally invasive gastrectomy was a safe and feasible treatment strategy for patients with advanced gastric cancer with symptomatic GOO. This procedure may contribute to the early recovery of oral intake and help maintain NAC dose intensity, potentially improving prognosis, particularly for patients with low BMI and advanced-stage disease.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate the laparoscopic gastrectomy (LG) performance of non-Endoscopic Surgical Skill Qualification System (ESSQS)-qualified surgeons under the ESSQS-qualified surgeon guidance and compare oncological outcomes of gastric cancer to LG performed by the ESSQS-qualified surgeons. METHODS: This study enrolled 1,030 patients diagnosed with both clinical and pathological stage ≤ III gastric cancer and undergoing LG from January 2009 to June 2019. ESSQS-qualified surgeons served as the operator or the instructive assistant in all LG procedures involving them. A propensity score-matched analysis was used to retrospectively compare the long-term outcomes between the ESSQS-qualified and non-ESSQS-qualified surgeons. RESULTS: Each group included 315 pairs after propensity score matching. The 3-year recurrence-free survival rates were 84.4% and 81.7% in the non-ESSQS and ESSQS groups, respectively. The difference was 2.7% (95% confidence interval: - 3.20%-8.44%, P < 0.001), and the non-ESSQS group statistically demonstrated noninferiority as the lower 95% confidence limit was greater than the prespecified margin of -10%, indicating the achieved primary endpoint. No significant differences in 5-year recurrence-free survival (non-ESSQS: 78.5% vs. ESSQS: 77.4%, P = 0.627) and 5-year overall survival (non-ESSQS: 80.9% vs. ESSQS: 79.3%, P = 0.475) were found between the two groups. The oncological outcomes stratified according to the presence of pathological stage I, II, and III disease did not significantly differ between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: LG performed by non-ESSQS-qualified surgeons achieved comparable oncological outcomes to the ESSQS-qualified surgeons, as long as ESSQS-qualified surgeons provided intraoperative instructions, in a high-volume center.

PURPOSE: Postoperative diarrhea (PD) remains one of the significant complications. Only a few studies focused on PD after minimally invasive surgery. We aimed to investigate PD after minimally invasive gastrectomy for gastric cancer. METHODS: A total of 1476 consecutive patients with gastric cancer undergoing laparoscopic or robotic gastrectomy between 2009 and 2019 at our institution were retrospectively reviewed. PD was defined as continuous diarrhea for ≥ 2 days, positive stool culture, or positive clostridial antigen test. The incidence, causes, and related clinical factors were analyzed. RESULTS: Of the 1476 patients, the median age was 69 years. Laparoscopic and robotic approaches were performed in 1072 (72.6%) and 404 (27.4%), respectively. Postoperative complications with Clavien-Dindo classification grade of ≥ IIIa occurred in 108 (7.4%) patients. PD occurred in 89 (6.0%) patients. Of the 89 patients with PD, Clostridium difficile, enteropathogenic Escherichia coli, and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus were detected in 24 (27.0%), 16 (33.3%), and 7 (14.6%) patients, respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed that age ≥ 75 years (OR 1.62, 95% CI [1.02-2.60], p = 0.042) and postoperative complications (OR 6.04, 95% CI [3.54-10.32], p < 0.001) were independent risk factors for PD. In patients without complications, TG (OR 1.88) and age of ≥ 75 years(OR 1.71) were determined as independent risk factors. CONCLUSION: The incidence of PD following minimally invasive gastrectomy for gastric cancer was 6.0%. Older age and TG were obvious risk factors in such a surgery, with the latter being a significant risk even in the absence of complications.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Immune-related adverse events (irAEs) are associated with the efficacy of nivolumab. However, whether the tolerability of second-line chemotherapy is associated with the efficacy of nivolumab monotherapy (third-line chemotherapy) remains unclear. Our study aimed to investigate whether the results of second-line treatment were associated with the efficacy of nivolumab in patients with gastric cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We enrolled Japanese patients aged ≥20 years with gastric cancer who were treated with nivolumab as a third-line chemotherapy at Fujita Health University Hospital from October 2017 to September 2021. Patients with the evaluations of complete response, partial response, and stable disease after third-line chemotherapy were included in the disease control (DC) group, while others were included in the progressive disease (PD) group. RESULTS: A total of 126 patients were enrolled. The population of patients aged over 65 years in the DC group was significantly higher than that in the PD group. The number of patients continuing second-line chemotherapy for >7 months was significantly higher in the DC than in the PD group. Age over 65 years [odds ratio (OR)=2.67], duration of second-line chemotherapy over 7 months (OR=3.10), and the occurrence of irAEs (OR=3.60) were detected as the factors associated with disease control after nivolumab chemotherapy. CONCLUSION: The effect and tolerability of second-line chemotherapy, and age over 65 years are the factors associated with DC after nivolumab chemotherapy. The control of tumour inflammatory status might be important for improving treatment outcomes.

症例は49歳，女性．10年前より近医で貧血・低蛋白血症，胃内に多発するポリープを指摘されていた．2014年3月に嘔吐にて当院救急外来を受診．貧血・低蛋白血症を認め，緊急入院となった．上部消化内視鏡検査では，胃全体にポリープが多発し，前庭部では幽門を覆い通過障害をきたしていた．腹部造影CT検査で，胃体上部から幽門にかけて，造影効果を伴う腫瘤が胃の内腔を占拠し，胃内口側に液貯留を認めた．絶食と輸血による内科的治療にて全身状態が改善した後に，腹腔鏡下胃全摘術を実施した．切除標本においては，胃全体にびまん性浮腫状のポリポーシスを認めた．組織学的に胃限局性若年性ポリポーシスを診断された．術後合併症なく経過し，貧血・低蛋白血症はともに改善した．胃限局性若年性ポリポーシスは稀な疾患であるが，今回腹腔鏡下胃全摘術を行い，良好な経過をたどった症例を経験したので若干の文献的考察を加えて報告する．