Laparoscopic staging of gastric cancer is safe and affects treatment strategy.

The accuracy of laparoscopic staging has been documented, but its safety and impact on clinical decision making are less clear. In a prospective series of 64 patients referred to a single consultant, laparoscopy was performed in 49, after exclusion of patients unlikely to derive benefit from laparoscopic staging. The prelaparoscopy treatment plan was altered in 17 (34%). Laparoscopy detected 11 cases of peritoneal and four cases of liver metastasis, of which nine and two, respectively, were not detected by CT scan. Laparoscopy was useful in assessing fitness for major surgery, the planned extent of which was reduced in five cases as a result. Port site metastasis occurred in one case of stage IVB cancer, in conjunction with widespread progressive disease. Laparoscopic staging is recommended in gastric cancer, since it causes important changes to the management plan in one-third of cases, and the risks of port site metastasis appear low.