TY - JOUR T1 - Impact of the introduction of formal D2 lymphadenectomy for gastric cancer in a Western setting JF - Canadian Journal of Surgery JO - CAN J SURG SP - E119 LP - E126 DO - 10.1503/cjs.019919 VL - 64 IS - 2 AU - Alexandre Brind’Amour AU - Jean-Pierre Gagné AU - Jean-Charles Hogue AU - Éric Poirier Y1 - 2021/04/01 UR - http://canjsurg.ca/content/64/2/E119.abstract N2 - Background Two members from an academic tertiary hospital went to the National Cancer Institute in Tokyo, Japan, to learn how to perform an adequate D2 lymphadenectomy and to then introduce this technique in the surgical care of patients undergoing surgery for gastric cancer at a Western hospital. We aimed to compare the perioperative outcomes and long-term survival of Western patients who underwent gastric resection, performed by these 2 surgeons, before and after the surgeons’ short-course technical training in Japan.Methods We conducted a retrospective comparative study of all patients (n = 27 before training and n = 79 after training) who underwent gastric resection for cancer by the same 2 surgeons between September 2007 and December 2017 at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Québec — Université Laval (Québec, Canada). We collected data on patient demographic, clinical, surgical, pathological and treatment characteristics, as well as long-term survival and complications.Results In the post-training group, the number of sampled lymph nodes was higher (median 33 v. 14, p < 0.0001), but this increase did not result in a higher number of histologically positive lymph nodes (p = 0.35). The rate of complications was lower in the post-training group (15.2% v. 48.2%, p = 0.002). The hospital stay was shorter in the post-training group (11 [standard deviation (SD) 7] v. 23 [SD 45] d, p = 0.03). The median survival was higher in the post-training group (47 v. 29 mo, p = 0.03).Conclusion These results suggest that a short-course technical training in D2 lymphadenectomy, completed in Japan, improved lymph node sampling, decreased postoperative complications and improved survival of patients undergoing surgery for gastric cancer in a Western setting. ER -