Randomized clinical trial comparing long-term quality of life for Billroth I versus Roux-en-Y reconstruction after distal gastrectomy for gastric cancer.

BACKGROUND: Patients' quality of life (QoL) deteriorates remarkably after gastrectomy. Billroth I reconstruction following distal gastrectomy has the physiological advantage of allowing food to pass through the duodenum. It was hypothesized that Billroth I reconstruction would be superior to Roux-en-Y reconstruction in terms of long-term QoL after distal gastrectomy. This study compared two reconstructions in a multicentre prospective randomized clinical trial to identify the optimal reconstruction procedure. METHODS: Between January 2009 and September 2010, patients who underwent gastrectomy for gastric cancer were randomized during surgery to Billroth I or Roux-en-Y reconstruction. The primary endpoint was assessment of QoL using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy - Gastric (FACT-Ga) questionnaire 36 months after surgery. RESULTS: A total of 122 patients were enrolled in the study, 60 to Billroth I and 62 to Roux-en-Y reconstruction. There were no differences between the two groups in terms of postoperative complications or mortality, and no significant differences in FACT-Ga total score (P = 0·496). Symptom scales such as epigastric fullness (heaviness), diarrhoea and fatigue were significantly better in the Billroth I group at 36 months after gastrectomy (heaviness, P = 0·040; diarrhoea, P = 0·046; fatigue, P = 0·029). The rate of weight loss in the third year was lower for patients in the Billroth I group (P = 0·046). CONCLUSION: The choice of anastomotic reconstruction after distal gastrectomy resulted in no difference in long-term QoL in patients with gastric cancer. REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT01065688 (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov).

Gastric partitioning gastrojejunostomy in unresectable distal gastric cancer patients.

The main purpose of bypass surgery in patients with unresectable distal gastric cancer is to improve their quality of life (QoL). However, the result of conventional gastroenterostomy is dismal including continuous bleeding due to the contact of food material on the tumor surface and early obstruction of the stoma by tumor growth. Developing more effective surgery is warranted to improve the QoL of these patients. Among the 1158 patients with gastric cancer who underwent surgery from March 1993 to July 2002 at Hanyang University Medical Center, 54 (4.7%) had unresectable cancers. Various types of gastrojejunostomy (G-Jstomy), including conventional G-Jstomy (CGJ) (n = 18), antral exclusion G-Jstomy (n = 7), and gastric partitioning G-Jstomy (GPGJ) (n = 17), as well as exploratory laparotomy only (n = 12) were performed in these unresectable cases. In this study, survival and postoperative QoL were compared for the CGJ and GPGJ groups. The median survivals were 120 and 209 days for the CGJ and GPGJ groups, respectively (p = 0.046). The rates of postoperative body weight loss compared to the preoperative weight were 9.3% and 3.1% in the CGJ and GPGJ groups, respectively; the difference showed borderline significance (p = 0.067). The volume of blood transfusion was much less during the postoperative period than during the preoperative period in the GPGJ group but not in the CGJ group. The GPGJ procedure minimized food contact on the tumor surface, which was confirmed by an upper gastrointestinal barium meal series. GPGJ can be recommended as the procedure of choice for bypass surgery in patients with unresectable distal gastric cancer considering their improved survival and postoperative QoL compared to those who underwent CGJ.