Endoscopic Resection Compared with Gastrectomy to Treat Early Gastric Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND Endoscopic resection and gastrectomy are treatment modalities for early gastric cancer, but their relative benefits and risks are unclear. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to compare endoscopic resection and gastrectomy for treating early gastric cancer. METHODS We searched PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library until April 2015 for studies comparing endoscopic resection with gastrectomy for treatment of early gastric cancer. Outcome measures were five-year overall survival (OS), length of hospital stay and postoperative morbidity. We calculated pooled hazard ratio (HR), weighted mean difference (WMD) and odds ratio (OR) using random effects models. RESULTS Six studies comprising 1,466 patients (618 endoscopic resection and 848 gastrectomy) met inclusion criteria. Five-year OS was similar between endoscopic resection and gastrectomy (HR, 1.06; 95% CI: 0.61 to 1.83). Endoscopic resection was associated with shorter hospital stays (WMD, -6.94; 95% CI: -7.59 to -6.29) and reduced overall postoperative morbidity (OR, 0.36; 95% CI: 0.17 to 0.74). CONCLUSIONS While five-year OS is similar between endoscopic resection and gastrectomy, endoscopic resection offers a shorter hospital stay and fewer complications than gastrectomy for treating early gastric cancer. Endoscopic resection is a reasonable treatment for early gastric cancer with a negligible risk of lymph node metastasis.