The pattern of postoperative quality of life following minimally invasive gastrectomy for gastric cancer: a prospective cohort from Korean multicenter robotic gastrectomy trial

Abstract

Purpose Quality of life (QOL) has become important in the trend of emphasizing patient satisfaction. This study aimed to evaluate the QOL in patients who underwent laparoscopic or robotic gastrectomy for gastric cancer. Methods A prospective trial was performed involving patients who underwent laparoscopic or robotic gastrectomy for primary gastric cancer at 11 hospitals in Korea. Within this comparative trial, QOL, postoperative pain, and long-term complications were exanimated. The quality-of-life questionnaire (QLQ)-C30 and QLQ-STO22 developed by the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer were used for the QOL survey. We compared the data after dividing it into several types of characteristics as follows; device (robotic or laparoscopic), operation type, pathological stage, and sex. Biased components were extracted by logistic regression analysis. Propensity score matching was applied to the data set with the biased components. Results In total, 434 patients (211 for laparoscopic surgery and 223 for robotic surgery) were enrolled, out of which 321 patients who responded to both preoperative and postoperative surveys were selected for analysis. Robotic gastrectomy was not different from laparoscopic gastrectomy with respect to postoperative QOL. Distal gastrectomy showed better scores than total gastrectomy in terms of role functioning, social functioning, fatigue, nausea/vomiting, pain, dyspnea, constipation, financial difficulties, dysphagia, eating restrictions, anxiety, taste, and body image. Male patients showed better scores on the 19 scales compared to female patients. Conclusion Robotic and laparoscopic approaches for gastric cancer surgery did not differ from each other with respect to QOL. Distal gastrectomy resulted in better QOL than total gastrectomy.

Patient-reported gastrointestinal symptoms following surgery for gastric cancer and the relative risk factors

“…In this study, we found that the incidence of dysphagia symptom was higher in patients with total and proximal gastrectomy. This is consistent with studies from Lee et al (22) and Choi et al (23) suggesting that the dysphagia symptom was worse in the total gastrectomy group. Because of the disharmony and inconsistency of contraction and peristalsis between the esophagus and jejunum, patients with total or proximal gastrectomy sometimes suffer from dysphagia when eating.…”

“…( 22 ) and Choi et al. ( 23 ) suggesting that the dysphagia symptom was worse in the total gastrectomy group. Because of the disharmony and inconsistency of contraction and peristalsis between the esophagus and jejunum, patients with total or proximal gastrectomy sometimes suffer from dysphagia when eating.…”

Postoperative quality of life after gastrectomy in gastric cancer patients: a prospective longitudinal observation study

“…Objective measurements including blood test, imaging exam, and body composition analysis are widely used for assessing these changes. Although the QOL questionnaire is a subjective indicator, it has become increasingly important as a soft measurement in assessing both surgical and oncological outcomes [ 18 ]. Body weight loss is another objective indicator that varies widely among patients after surgery and is reported to have a marked impact on postoperative QOL changes [ 19 ].…”