Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of gastrojejunal bypass surgery combined with radical gastrectomy following conversion therapy for gastric cancer with outlet obstruction.

Methods The retrospective and descriptive study was conducted. The clinicopatho-logical data of 10 initially unresectable gastric cancer patients with outlet obstruction who were admitted to Ruijin Hospital of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine from October 2019 to July 2020 were collected. There were 8 males and 2 females, aged from 41 to 59 years, with a median age of 53 years. Patients underwent 'sandwich therapy' of gastrojejunal bypass surgery combined with gastrectomy following conversion therapy. Observation indicators: (1) gastrojejunal bypass surgery and postoperative situations; (2) conversion therapy and complications; (3) radical gastrectomy and postoperative situations; (4) follow‑up. Follow‑up using outpatient examinations or telephone interview was conducted to detect postoperative complications, progress‑free survival, tumor recurrence and metastasis up to March 2019. Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as Mean±SD, and measurement data with skewed distribution were represented as M(range). Count data were described as absolute numbers.

Results (1) Gastrojejunal bypass surgery and postoperative situations: 10 patients received modified gastrojejunal bypass surgery combined with No.4sb lymph node dissection, without intraoperative serious complications, conversion to laparotomy or death. The operation time, volume of intraoperative blood loss, time to postoperative first flatus, time to liquid diet intake were 73 minutes(range, 60-87 minutes), 33 mL(range,20-110 mL), 3 days(range, 2-6 days), 4 days(range, 4-9 days). One patient had post-operative Clavien‑Dindo grade Ⅱ complication of anastomotic bleeding, and was improved after transfusion of blood products. (2) Conversion therapy and complications: of 10 patients, 9 cases received 4 cycles of FLOT regimen. One of the 9 cases was suspended chemotherapy due to Clavien-Dindo grade Ⅱ anastomotic edema after 2 cycles of FLOT regimen. Of 10 patients, there were 6 cases with partial response and 4 cases with stable disease. Of 6 patients with partial response, 4 cases with preoperative cT4b stage were down stage to T4a stage, showing the relationship of tumor with transverse mesentery and pancreatic capsule clearer than the first exploration, 2 cases with preoperative lymph nodes fusion had shrank obviously. Of 4 patients with stable disease, 3 cases were negative for lymph nodes shranking, and the rest 1 case with tumor peritoneal metastasis diagnosed by initial laparoscopy can not be evaluated by imaging examination after chemotherapy. Two of 10 patients had Clavien‑Dindo grade I complication of elevated blood glucose during the chemotherapy, which were improved after insulin therapy. (3) Radical gastrectomy and post-operative situations: 10 patients underwent radical resection after conversion therapy. Of 4 cases with stable disease, 3 cases with preoperative lymph nodes fusion showed obvious space between lymph nodes and surrounding tissues at resurgical exploration and received radical resection, 1 case with peritoneal metastasis showed abdominal wall nodelus and omental tuberosity as fibrous scars at resurgical exploration and received radical resection. The operation time, volume of intra-operative blood loss, time to postoperative first flatus, time to initial liquid diet intake, duration of total hospital stay, duration of postoperative hospital stay of 10 patients were 148 minutes(range, 95-195 minutes), 108 mL(range, 100-180 mL), 3 days(range, 2-7 days), 4 days(range, 3-9 days), 11 days(range, 10-21 days), 8 days(range, 7-16 days). Two of 10 patients had perioperative complications. Results of pathological examination of 10 patients showed the number of dissected lymph nodes as 25±6. There were 1 case of stage T1, 5 cases of stage T3, 4 cases of stage T4a. There were 1 case of stage N0, 2 cases of stage N1, 3 cases of stage N2, 4 cases of stage N3. There were 3 cases of tumor regression grade 1a, 1 case of grade 1b, 4 cases of grade 2, 2 cases of grade 3. (4) Follow‑up: 10 patients were followed up for 3.9-13.0 months, with a median follow‑up time of 6.0 months. The median progression‑free survival time of 10 patients was 6.0 months. During the follow‑up, 1 case underwent postoperative Clavien‑Dindo grade Ⅱ complication of delayed gastric emptying and was improved after symptomatic treatment.

Conclusion The gastrojejunal bypass surgery combined with gastrectomy following conversion therapy for gastric cancer with outlet obstruction is safe and effective.