This study aims to assess the size of metastatic lymph nodes (LNs) in advanced poorly cohesive gastric carcinoma (PC-GC) on pre-operative CT and to evaluate potential differences based on histological types. We included advanced gastric cancer patients who underwent surgery at Chung-Ang University Hospital from February 2018 to May 2023. Two abdominal radiologists, in consensus, reviewed abdominal CT scans to evaluate the presence of gastric cancer and the largest size of visible LNs at each gastric LN station on CT scans. Measurable LNs were correlated with the full pathology report from electronic database records to determine the metastatic status. We used the independent t-test to evaluate the size difference of metastatic LNs across different histologic types. We evaluated a total of 136 patients (mean age, 67.25 ± 11.97; 91 males) with advanced gastric cancers. Among them, PC-GC was found in 26 patients (19.1

Purpose:Postoperative complications following gastric cancer surgery significantly impact patient outcomes, yet standardized definitions for these events have not been consistently applied across institutions in Korea. This study aimed to develop a consensus-based, standardized complication classification system specific to gastrectomy for gastric cancer as part of the Korean Quality Improvement Platform in Surgery (K-QIPS) initiative. Methods:As part of K-QIPS, a dedicated task force team (TFT) was formed with surgical experts from fourteen high-volume hospitals across Korea. The TFT conducted ten formal meetings to review existing literature and international guidelines, and incorporated findings from randomized controlled trials. The final complication list was developed through expert consensus and structured into a standardized framework. A Data Entry Manual was created to support consistent data collection by surgical clinical reviewers. Results:The TFT defined specific postoperative complications following gastrectomy for gastric cancer, including anastomotic leakage, duodenal stump leakage, pancreatic fistula, intra-abdominal and luminal bleeding, delayed gastric emptying, and internal hernia. Notably, internal hernia was described in standardized form for the first time. General complications were developed first and overlapped in part with the gastric cancer-specific list. The task force also produced a Data Entry Manual that provides practical instructions to ensure consistency and accuracy in complication reporting. Conclusion:This nationwide consensus initiative established the first standardized complication classification system for gastric cancer surgery in Korea. The proposed definitions and data entry system are expected to improve complication reporting, enable multicenter research, support surgical quality benchmarking, and ultimately enhance patient outcomes.

Obesity has emerged as a major global health issue. The ratio of male to female patients undergoing metabolic bariatric surgery (MBS) is 1:3.5. Although not as dramatic compared to the global trend, the rate of obesity in women of reproductive age in Korea has been steadily increasing over the past several decades. The impact of obesity on reproductive health and perinatal outcomes should be carefully considered when consulting female candidates of reproductive age for MBS. Obesity adversely affects reproductive health by causing menstrual irregularities, anovulation, subfertility, and increased miscarriage risk, as well as impairing the success of assisted reproductive technologies. Maternal obesity also heightens the risk of adverse perinatal outcomes, including childhood obesity and metabolic disorders. MBS has been shown to improve fertility outcomes and reduce obesity-related pregnancy complications, although concerns remain regarding potential risks such as small-for-gestational-age infants due to rapid weight loss and nutritional deficiencies. Despite these implications, current MBS guidelines rarely address the unique needs of reproductive-age women. In response, the Korean Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery convened a task force to develop evidence-based recommendations tailored to this population. This position statement aims to guide the management of obesity in women of reproductive age to optimize reproductive and perinatal outcomes.

Background Lymph node metastasis (LNM) prediction for each LN station is required for tailored surgery for patient safety or improving quality of life in gastric cancer. This retrospective review was performed to develop a prediction program for calculating the probability of LNM according to LN stations in patients with gastric cancer. Method Among patients who underwent gastrectomy for primary gastric cancer between 2003 and 2017 at Seoul National University Hospital, 4,660 patients up to 2013 were used as the development set, and 2,564 patients after 2013 were used as the validation set. Not only the center of tumor but also all locations of stomach by tumor were included in the analysis. A multiple logistic regression analysis was used to develop an LNM prediction program for each LN station in development set. The program was validated using C-statistics and a calibration plot of the validation set. Results Multivariate analysis identified tumor depth, gross type, and involved locations as covariates associated with LNM. However, the significant factors differed slightly according to the LN station. The prediction equations were developed for each LN station. In the validation set, the prediction equation exhibited good discriminant C-statistics of over 0.8 for all stations. The calibration plot of the prediction equation predicted the LNM rate, which corresponded closely to the actual rate. Conclusions A program was developed to predict LNM at LN stations. Predictive power was confirmed via internal validation. Predicting the LN metastatic rate for each LN station could help in planning more customized surgery.

PURPOSE:This trial (KLASS-12) compares the efficacy and safety of reduced-port laparoscopic gastrectomy (RPLG) versus conventional 5-port laparoscopic gastrectomy (CPLG) for early gastric cancer (EGC). MATERIALS AND METHODS:This multicenter, open-label, randomized controlled trial enrolled patients diagnosed with gastric adenocarcinoma (T1N0M0) at 15 university hospitals in Korea. Participants underwent RPLG or CPLG with at least D1+ lymph node dissection. The primary aim of this study was to verify the non-inferiority of RPLG to CPLG in terms of postoperative 30-day complications. RESULTS:From May 2022 to October 2023, 348 patients were randomly assigned to the RPLG and CPLG groups, with 174 patients in each group. After applying the exclusion criteria, 164 and 166 patients from the RPLG and CPLG groups, respectively, were analyzed. Complication rates were 10.4% and 9.2% for the RPLG and CPLG groups, in the intention-to-treat (ITT) population, and 10.4% vs. 7.2% in the per-protocol (PP) population. The risk difference was 0.012 (95% confidence interval [CI], -0.051 to 0.075) in the ITT population and 0.031 (95% CI, -0.030 to 0.093) in the PP population. These findings verified the non-inferiority of RPLG to CPLG, with a 10% margin. Additionally, the pain score on postoperative day 5 was significantly lower in the RPLG group (1.6% vs. 1.8%; P=0.028). The 2 groups showed no significant differences in the lymph node yield, conversion rate, or length of hospital stay. RPLG was not an independent risk factor for complications. CONCLUSIONS:RPLG is a feasible and safe alternative for patients with EGC, and its short-term outcomes are not inferior to those of CPLG. TRIAL REGISTRATION:Clinical Research Information Service Identifier: KCT0006935.

Objective:Laparoscopic distal gastrectomy (LDG) has potential as a surgical treatment option for locally advanced gastric cancer (LAGC). However, there is uncertainty regarding the generalizability of LDG efficacy across diverse patient populations and treatment settings. This study aimed to assess the outcomes of LDG vs. open distal gastrectomy (ODG) in patients with LAGC despite differences in clinical trial populations and treatment environments. Methods:The KLASS-02 and CLASS-01 trials are multicenter, non-inferiority, open-label, randomized controlled trials for patients with LAGC eligible for distal subtotal gastrectomy in Korea and China, respectively. Some 1,050 patients were enrolled in KLASS-02, and 1,056 patients were enrolled in CLASS-01. Individual patient data (IPD) from KLASS-02 and CLASS-01 were pooled and analyzed. Results:There were 900 patients in the LDG group and 920 in the ODG group. Baseline characteristics were well balanced between groups. The LDG group had better short-term and recovery outcomes than the ODG group, although anastomotic leakage was more frequent. For patients who underwent LDG vs. ODG, 5-year overall survival (OS) was 82.7% [95% confidence interval (95% CI), 80.2%-85.2%] vs. 83.3% (95% CI, 80.9%-85.8%) (P=0.706) and 5-year recurrence-free survival (RFS) was 76.9% (95% CI, 74.1%-79.7%) vs. 77.9% (95% CI, 75.2%-80.6%) (P=0.666), respectively, with a median follow-up of 70 months. In the multivariable prognostic IPD meta-analysis, the operative approach was not independently associated with OS [hazard ratio (HR)=1.045, 95% CI, 0.833-1.311; P=0.706] or RFS (HR=1.044, 95% CI, 0.859-1.269; P=0.667) for LDG vs. ODG. In the subgroup analysis, LDG demonstrated a significant association with poorer RFS in the pT4 subgroup (HR=1.377, 95% CI, 1.022-1.760; P=0.034). Conclusions:Despite differences in patient populations, surgical practices, and postoperative treatments between trials, LDG is oncologically safe with the benefit of being minimally invasive for patients with LAGC, except for the pT4 patients. Therefore, LDG could be a good treatment alternative for patients with LAGC; however, caution should be warranted in its application for patients classified as T4.

Objective:The laparoscopic approach for locally advanced gastric cancer has recently been adopted based on the results of several randomized controlled trials(RCTs).However,findings from RCTs have not been examined at the national level.This study aimed to investigate the external validity of the Korean Laparoscopic Gastrointestinal Surgery Study-02(KLASS-02)trial involving 13 tertiary hospitals,using data from the Korean Gastric Cancer Association(KGCA)-led nationwide survey involving 68 tertiary or general hospitals. Methods:Data on patients who underwent laparoscopic or open distal gastrectomy for pathological stageⅠB-ⅢC gastric cancer under the same conditions were collected from the KLASS-02 trial and the KGCA nationwide survey datasets.Surgical outcomes were assessed for each dataset and multivariable analyses were performed to examine the effect of the laparoscopic approach on surgical outcomes. Results:The laparoscopic group had a lower overall complication rate than the open group in both KLASS-02 and KGCA datasets(16.1％vs.23.5％for the KLASS-02 and 12.6％vs.19.6％for the KGCA).Moreover,the laparoscopic group had fewer wound problems,and fewer grade Ⅱ,Ⅲa,and Ⅳ complications than the open group in the KGCA data(0.8％vs.3.4％,5.8％vs.10.4％,2.3％vs.3.7％,and 0.5％vs.1.4％,respectively),which were not observed in the KLASS-02 data.Multivariable analyses revealed that the laparoscopic approach was not associated with overall complications,but reduced wound problems and more harvested lymph nodes in the KGCA survey data(adjusted odds ratios,0.19 for wound problems,adjusted β coefficient 4.39 for number of harvested lymph nodes),which were not shown in the KLASS-02 data. Conclusions:The safety and feasibility of the laparoscopic approach for locally advanced gastric cancer were validated at a national level.The laparoscopic approach for locally advanced gastric cancer can be implemented in the Republic of Korea.

Objective:Precision medicine approaches emphasize the importance of reliable prognostic tools for guiding individualized therapy decisions.In this study,we evaluated the clinical feasibility of the single patient classifier(SPC)test,a new clinical-grade prognostic assay,in stage Ⅱ-Ⅲ gastric cancer patients. Methods:A prospective multicenter study was conducted,involving 237 patients who underwent gastrectomy between September 2019 and August 2020 across nine hospitals.The SPC test was employed to stratify patients into risk groups,and its feasibility and performance were evaluated.The primary endpoint was the proportion of the cases in which the test results were timely delivered before selecting postoperative treatment.Furthermore,3-year disease-free survivals of risk groups were analyzed. Results:The SPC test met the primary endpoint criteria.The 99.5％of SPC tests were timely delivered to hospitals before the postoperative treatment started.In a clinical setting,the median time from the specimen transfer to laboratory to the result delivery to hospital was 4 d.Furthermore,3-year disease-free survivals were significantly different between risk groups classified with SPC tests. Conclusions:This study highlights the SPC test's feasibility in offering crucial information timely delivered for making informed decisions regarding postoperative treatment strategies.It also provides evidence to support the implementation of a future prospective clinical trial aimed at evaluating the clinical utility of the SPC test in guiding personalized treatment decisions for gastric cancer patients.

Reduced-port gastrectomy (RPG) includes all procedures derived from various efforts to minimize surgical invasiveness, with single-incision laparoscopic gastrectomy (SILG) being the ultimate reduced-port technique. However, there are challenges related to its feasibility, oncological validity, training, and education. This review describes the current issues and challenges, as well as the future prospects of RPG for gastric cancer. Gastrectomy, which started as an open surgery, has evolved into a laparoscopic surgery. With the advancements in laparoscopic technology, SILG has been used to minimize surgical scarring. However, owing to the technical difficulties of SILG, cases involving the addition of 1 trocar or needle grasper alongside the multichannel port have also been reported. Additionally, 3-port laparoscopic gastrectomy (3PLG) using only 3 trocars is also being performed. RPG, as a concept, includes a range of approaches such as SILG, 2-port laparoscopic gastrectomy, and 3PLG. These techniques aimed to reduce the number of ports or incisions required for laparoscopic gastrectomy. Despite technical difficulties, RPGs offer numerous advantages, including minimal invasiveness, excellent cosmetic outcomes, and the potential for improved postoperative recovery, such as reduced length of hospital stay and post-operative pain. It could be considered similar to conventional laparoscopic gastrectomy, and may not be oncologically inferior. Ongoing studies, such as the KLASS 12, are required to gain further insights.

The goal of the 8th edition of the Clinical Practice Guidelines for Obesity is to help primary care physician provide safe, effective care to patients with obesity by offering evidence-based recommendations to improve the quality of treatment. The Committee for Clinical Practice Guidelines comprised individuals with multidisciplinary expertise in obesity management. A steering board of seven experts oversaw the entire project. Recommendations were developed as the answers to key questions formulated in patient/problem, intervention, comparison, outcomes (PICO) format. Guidelines underwent multi-level review and cross-checking and received endorsement from relevant scientific societies. This edition of the guidelines includes criteria for diagnosing obesity, abdominal obesity, and metabolic syndrome; evaluation of obesity and its complications; weight loss goals; and treatment options such as diet, exercise, behavioral therapy, pharmacotherapy, and bariatric and metabolic surgery for Korean people with obesity. Compared to the previous edition of the guidelines, the current edition includes five new topics to keep up with the constantly evolving field of obesity: diagnosis of obesity, obesity in women, obesity in patients with mental illness, weight maintenance after weight loss, and the use of information and communication technology-based interventions for obesity treatment. This edition of the guidelines features has improved organization, more clearly linking key questions in PICO format to recommendations and key references. We are confident that these new Clinical Practice Guidelines for Obesity will be a valuable resource for all healthcare professionals as they describe the most current and evidence-based treatment options for obesity in a well-organized format.

Objective: The aim of this study was to audit the 22 items and assessed each item's predictive value on surgical outcomes. Background: The KLASS-02 trial revealed that the oncologic outcomes of laparoscopic distal gastrectomy are not inferior to open distal gastrectomy in patients with advanced gastric cancer. The surgeons participating in this trial were chosen based on the assessment scores from the KLASS-02-QC trial, which used 22 items for standardization of D2 lymphadenectomy and quality control. Methods: We reviewed proficiency scores (PSs) for 22 items for 20 surgeons who participated in KLASS-02. The surgeons were divided into 2 groups according to PS, and the perioperative outcomes of 924 patients enrolled in KLASS-02 were compared between groups. Each item's predictive value for perioperative outcome was then assessed using multivariable regression models. Results: Of the total 924 patients, 529 were operated on by high-score surgeons (high PS) and 395 were operated on by low-score surgeons (low-PS). High-PS group had less intraoperative blood loss, longer operation times, and fewer complications, major complications, reoperations, and shorter first flatus and hospital stay than low-PS group (P=0.006, P<0.001, P<0.001, P<0.001, P=0.042, P=0.013, and P<0.001, respectively). Some items used in KLASS-02-QC predicted perioperative outcomes, such as intraoperative blood loss, major complications, reoperation, and hospital stay. Conclusions: Although this study only analyzed data associated with qualified surgeons, the 22 items effectively assessed the surgeons based on PS. A high score was associated with longer operation times, but better perioperative outcomes.

BACKGROUND:The benefit of regular follow-up after curative resection for gastric cancer is controversial as there is no evidence that it will improve survival. This study assessed whether regular follow-up leads to improved survival in patients after surgery for gastric cancer.METHODS:A secondary analysis was undertaken of patients who participated in an RCT of laparoscopic versus open distal gastrectomy for advanced gastric cancer between November 2011 and April 2015. Depending on whether patients were compliant with the initial trial follow-up protocol or not, they were analysed as having had either regular or irregular follow-up. Clinicopathological characteristics, recurrence patterns, detection, treatments, and survival were compared between the groups.RESULTS:The regular and irregular follow-up groups comprised 712 and 263 patients respectively. Disease recurrence within 36 months was more common in the regular group than in the irregular group (17.0 versus 11.4 per cent; P = 0.041). Recurrence patterns did not differ between the groups. The 3-year recurrence-free survival rate was worse in the regular than in the irregular group (81.2 versus 86.5 per cent; P = 0.031). However, the 5-year overall survival rate was comparable (84.5 versus 87.5 per cent respectively; P = 0.160). Multivariable analysis revealed that type of follow-up was not an independent factor affecting 5-year overall survival.CONCLUSION:Regular follow-up after radical gastrectomy was not associated with improved overall survival.

This randomized clinical trial investigates the oncologic safety profile of laparoscopic distal gastrectomy compared with open gastrectomy for the treatment of clinically advanced gastric cancer.

Purpose: To overcome the technical difficulties of single-incision laparoscopic distal gastrectomy (SILDG), needle grasper (Endo ReliefTM)-assisted SILDG (NASILDG) was developed. Here, we compared the operative convenience and postoperative outcomes between SILDG and NASILDG. Materials and Methods: A needle grasper was inserted into the right upper abdomen and used in the NASILDG. We retrospectively reviewed patients who underwent D1 + dissection and delta-shaped Billroth I anastomosis with SILDG or NASILDG performed by a single surgeon between September 2015 and August 2018. Results: The SILDG (male, 50.0%) and NASILDG (male, 60.0%) groups included 10 and 15 patients, respectively. The operative time without combined operation and anastomosis was significantly shorter in the NASILDG group. Early complications and scar characteristics were not significantly different between the two groups. Conclusions: By adding a needle grasper, SILDG became more convenient without decreasing cosmetic results. NASILDG could be a recommended method to reduce the technical difficulty of SILDG.

IMPORTANCE The long-term safety of laparoscopic distal gastrectomy for locally advanced gastric cancer (AGC) remains uncertain given the lack of 5-year follow-up results. OBJECTIVE To compare the 5-year follow-up results in patients with clinically AGC enrolled in the Korean Laparoendoscopic Gastrointestinal Surgery Study (KLASS)-02 randomized clinical trial who underwent laparoscopic or open distal gastrectomy. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS The KLASS-02, a multicenter randomized clinical trial, showed that laparoscopic surgery was noninferior to open surgery for patients with locally AGC. The present study assessed the 5-year follow-up results, including 5-year overall survival (OS) and relapse-free survival (RFS) rates and long-term complications, in patients enrolled in KLASS-02. From November 21, 2011, to April 29, 2015, patients aged 20 to 80 years diagnosed preoperatively with locally AGC were enrolled. Final follow-up was on June 15, 2021. Data were analyzed June 24 to September 9, 2021. INTERVENTIONS Patients were treated with R0 resection either by laparoscopic gastrectomy or open gastrectomy as the full analysis set of the KLASS-02 trial. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Five-year OS and RFS rates, recurrence patterns, and long-term surgical complications were evaluated. RESULTS This study enrolled a total of 1050 patients. A total of 974 patients were treated with R0 resection; 492 (50.5%) in the laparoscopic gastrectomy group (mean [SD] age, 59.8 [11.0] years; 351 men [71.3%]) and 482 (49.5%) in the open gastrectomy group (mean [SD] age, 59.4 [11.5] years; 335 men [69.5%]). In patients who underwent laparoscopic and open distal gastrectomy, the 5-year OS (88.9% vs 88.7%) and RFS (79.5% vs 81.1%) rates did not differ significantly. The most common types of recurrence were peritoneal carcinomatosis (73 of 173 [42.1%]), hematogenous metastases (36 of 173 [20.8%]), and locoregional recurrence (23 of 173 [13.2%]), with no between-group differences in types of recurrence at each cancer stage. The correlation between 3-year RFS and 5-year OS at the individual level was highest in patients with stage III gastric cancer (rho = 0.720). The late complication rate was significantly lower in the laparoscopic than in the open surgery group (32 of 492 [6.5%] vs 53 of 482 [11.0%]). The most common type of complication in both groups was intestinal obstruction (13 of 492 [2.6%] vs 24 of 482 [5.0%]). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE The 5-year outcomes of the KLASS-02 trial support the 3-year results, which is the noninferiority of laparoscopic surgery compared with open gastrectomy for locally AGC. The laparoscopic approach can be recommended in patients with locally AGC to achieve the benefit of low incidence of late complications.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between DNA damage response (DDR) related protein expression and clinical outcomes of patients with stage II and III gastric cancer undergoing gastrectomy. Materials and Methods: From January 2005 to December 2017, 217 gastrectomized patients with stage II and III gastric cancer were analyzed for disease-free and overall survival (DFS and OS, respectively) based on their DDR expression status. We performed the immunohistochemical assessment of MLH1, MSH2, at-rich interaction domain 1 (ARID1A), poly adenosine diphosphate-ribose polymerase 1 (PARP-1), breast cancer susceptibility gene 1 (BRCA1), and ataxia-telangiectasia mutated (ATM) using formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) samples. Results: Among the 217 patients studied, the most common DDR gene whose expression was suppressed was high PARP-1 (n = 120, 55.3%), followed by ATM (n = 62, 28.6%), ARID1A (n = 45, 20.7%), MLH1 (n = 33, 15.2%), BRCA1 (n = 25, 11.5%), and MSH2 (n = 9, 4.1%). The low-expression PARP-1 group exhibited a significantly shorter 5-year OS rate than the high-expression PARP-1 group (48.1% vs. 62.7%; HR 1.519, 95% CI = 1.011-2.283, P = 0.044). In the multivariate OS analysis, TNM stage (II vs. III) (HR = 5.172, P < 0.001), low PARP-1 expression (HR = 1.697, P = 0.013) and adjuvant chemotherapy (HR = 0.382, P < 0.001) were the only significant prognostic factors. Conclusions: Low PARP-1 expression level could be an indicator of poor prognosis in gastrectomized patients with stage II and III gastric cancer.

PurposeThe discrepancy between preoperative and final pathological staging has been a long-standing challenge for the application of clinical trials or appropriate treatment options. This study aimed to demonstrate the accuracy of preoperative staging of locally advanced gastric cancer using data from a large-scale randomized clinical trial.Materials and methodsOf the 1050 patients enrolled in the clinical trial, 26 were excluded due to withdrawal of consent (n = 20) or non-surgery (n = 6). The clinical and pathological staging was compared. Risk factor analysis for underestimation was performed using univariate and multivariate analyses.ResultsRegarding T staging by computed tomography, accuracy rates were 74.48, 61.62, 58.56, and 85.16% for T1, T2, T3 and T4a, respectively. Multivariate analysis for underestimation of T staging revealed that younger age, ulcerative gross type, circular location, larger tumor size, and undifferentiated histology were independent risk factors. Regarding nodal status estimation, 54.9% of patients with clinical N0 disease were pathologic N0, and 36.4% of patients were revealed to have pathologic N0 among clinical node-positive patients. The percentage of metastasis involvement at the D1, D1+, and D2 lymph node stations significantly increased with the advanced clinical N stage. Among all patients, 29 (2.8%), including 26 with peritoneal seeding, exhibited distant metastases.ConclusionsEstimating the exact pathologic staging remains challenging. A thorough evaluation is mandatory before treatment selection or trial enrollment. Moreover, we need to set a sufficient case number when we design the clinical trial considering the stage migration.

Although there is a growing interest in the role of gastric microbiome on the development of gastric cancer, the exact mechanism is largely unknown. We aimed to investigate the changes of gastric microbiome during gastric carcinogenesis, and to predict the functional potentials of the microbiome involved in the cancer development. The gastric microbiome was analyzed using gastric juice samples from 88 prospectively enrolled patients, who were classified into gastritis, gastric adenoma, or early/advanced gastric cancer group. Differences in microbial diversity and composition were analyzed with 16S rRNA gene profiling, using next-generation sequencing method. Metagenomic biomarkers were selected using logistic regression models, based on relative abundances at genus level. We used Tax4Fun to predict possible functional pathways of gastric microbiome involved in the carcinogenesis. The microbial diversity continuously decreased in its sequential process of gastric carcinogenesis, from gastritis to gastric cancer. The microbial composition was significantly different among the four groups of each disease status, as well as between the cancer group and non-cancer group. Gastritis group was differently enriched with genera Akkermansia and Lachnospiraceae NK4A136 Group, whereas the cancer group was enriched with Lactobacillus and Veillonella. Predictive analysis of the functional capacity of the microbiome suggested enrichment or depletion of several functional pathways related to carcinogenesis in the cancer group. There are significant changes in the diversity and composition of gastric microbiome during the gastric carcinogenesis process. Gastric cancer was characterized with microbial dysbiosis, along with functional changes potentially favoring carcinogenesis.

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a well-known complication of radical prostatectomy (RP). Oral 5-phosphodiesterase inhibitors are currently the most widely used penile rehabilitation treatment for ED following RP, but they are less effective than for those with general ED. Low-intensity extracorporeal shock wave treatment (LI-ESWT), causing a biological change that induces neovascularization, has recently been used as a treatment for ED. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the efficiency of LI-ESWT in ED following RP. PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library were searched up until December 2021. The endpoint was the change in IIEF scores after LI-ESWT. Five papers (460 patients) were included in the final analysis. In IIEF scores performed 3–4 months after LI-ESWT, the group receiving LI-ESWT showed statistically significantly better results than the control (WMD = −2.04; 95% CI, −3.72 to −0.35; p = 0.02). However, there were a total of two studies that measured the results after 9–12 months. There was no statistical difference between the two groups (WMD = −5.37; 95% CI, −12.42 to 1.69; p = 0.14). The results of this analysis indicate that LI-ESWT showed a statistically significant effect on early recovery in penile rehabilitation of ED following RP. However, the level of evidence was low. Therefore, careful interpretation of the results is required.

Ji-Hyeon Park, Seong-Ho Kong, Do Joong Park, Han-Kwang Yang, Jong Won Kim, Ki Bum Park, In Cho, Sun-Hwi Hwang, Dong-Wook Kim, Su Mi Kim, Seung-Wan Ryu, Seong Chan Gong, Pil Young Jung, Hoon Ryu, Sung Geun Kim, Chang In Choi, Dae-Hwan Kim, Sung-IL Choi, Ji-Ho Park, Dong Jin Park, Gyu-Yeol Kim, Yunhee Choi, Hyuk-Joon Lee. Ann Clin Nutr Metab 2022;14:55-65. https://doi.org/10.15747/ACNM.2022.14.2.55