Chinese standard and milestone of laparoscopic surgery for gastric cancer--Comments on the publishing of "Standard Operation Procedure of Laparoscopic surgery from CLASS-01 trial"

Abstract

A multicenter, randomized, controlled clinical trial of laparoscopic gastrectomy for locally advanced distal gastric cancer (CLASS - 01 trial, ClinicalTrials.gov registration number NCT01609309) confirmed that experienced surgeons could safely performed laparoscopic D2 distal gastrectomy for patients with locally advanced gastric cancer, with minimally invasive benefits and non-inferior oncological efficacy. This provides strong evidence of the treatment of locally advanced gastric cancer via laparoscopic approach, comparable to open surgery. In September 2019, "Standard Operation Procedure of Laparoscopic D2 Distal Gastrectomy for Locally Advanced Gastric Cancer: Consensus on CLASS-01 trial" was published in the Chinese Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery, which was highly evaluated by Chinese and overseas experts. Under the situation of wide application of minimally invasive surgery, the CLASS group published a 10-year scientific research summary and released the "Standard Operation Procedure", which has landmark significance and has become the recognized Chinese standard of laparoscopic surgery for the treatment of gastric cancer world wide. This will guide the scientific development of laparoscopic gastric cancer surgery in China, avoiding abuse or inappropriate use of minimally invasive techniques, while ensuring the rational use with fully benefits to the patients with gastric cancer.