A Randomized Controlled Trial of Vagus Nerve-preserving Distal Gastrectomy Versus Conventional Distal Gastrectomy for Postoperative Quality of Life in Early Stage Gastric Cancer Patients

Kim, Su Mi MD; Cho, Juhee PhD; Kang, Danbee; Oh, Seung Jong MD; Kim, Ae Ran MSN; Sohn, Tae Sung MD, PhD; Noh, Jae Hyoung; Kim, Sung

Annals of Surgery: June 2016 - Volume 263 - Issue 6 - p 1079–1084

doi: 10.1097/SLA.0000000000001565

Randomized Controlled Trials

Objective: To compare the postoperative quality of life of vagus nerve preserving distal gastrectomy (VPG) vs conventional distal gastrectomy (CG) in patients with early-stage gastric cancer.

Results: Patients assigned to VPG showed less diarrhea 3 and 12 months after surgery (P = 0.040 and 0.048, respectively) and less appetite loss at 12 months (P = 0.011) compared with those assigned to CG. In both groups, fatigue, anxiety, eating restriction, and body image deteriorated at 3 months after surgery and did not regain baseline levels 12 months after surgery. There were no significant differences between the 2 groups in cancer recurrence and death over 5 years of follow-up.

Conclusions: Early gastric cancer patients undergoing VPG reported significantly less diarrhea and appetite loss at 12 months postsurgery compared with those undergoing CG, with no differences in long-term clinical outcomes. VPG may improve the quality of life after gastrectomy in early gastric cancer patients compared with CG.

http://journals.lww.com/annalsofsurgery/Abstract/2016/06000/A_Randomized_Controlled_Trial_of_Vagus.13.aspx