Safety and Feasibility of Laparoscopic Spleen-Preserving No. 10 Lymph Node Dissection for Locally Advanced Upper Third Gastric Cancer: A Phase II Prospective, Multi-Institution Clinical Trial (CLASS-04)

Background: Previous retrospective studies have shown that laparoscopic spleen-preserving D2 total gastrectomy (LSTG) for advanced upper third gastric cancer (AUTGC) is safe. However, all previous studies were underpowered. We therefore conducted a prospective, multicenter, single-arm, phase II study to evaluate the feasibility of LSTG in patients with AUTGC. Methods: Between September 2016 and October 2017, 251 patients with newly diagnosed...