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The use of robotic surgery has experienced rapid growth across diverse medical conditions, with a notable emphasis on gastrointestinal cancers. The advanced technologies incorporated into robotic surgery platforms have played a pivotal role in enabling the safe performance of complex procedures, including gastrectomy and pancreatectomy, through a minimally invasive approach. However, there exists a noteworthy gap in high‐level evidence demonstrating that robotic surgery for gastric and pancreatic cancers has substantial benefits compared to traditional open or laparoscopic methods. The primary impediment hindering the broader implementation of robotic surgery is its cost. The escalating healthcare expenses in the United States have prompted healthcare providers and payors to explore patient‐centered, value‐based healthcare models and reimbursement systems that embrace cost‐effectiveness. Thus, it is important to determine what defines the value of robotic surgery. It must either maintain or enhance oncological quality and improve complication rates compared to open procedures. Moreover, its true value should be apparent in patients' expedited recovery and improved quality of life. Another essential aspect of robotic surgery's value lies in minimizing or even eliminating opioid use, even after major operations, offering considerable benefits to the broader public health landscape. A quicker return to oncological therapy has the potential to improve overall oncological outcomes, while a speedier return to work not only alleviates individual financial distress but also positively impacts societal productivity. In this article, we comprehensively review and summarize the current landscape of health economics and value‐based care, with a focus on robotic surgery for gastrointestinal cancers. Robotic surgery has rapidly gained traction in treating gastrointestinal cancers due to its advanced technology and minimally invasive approach; yet evidence of its superiority over traditional methods remains limited. To demonstrate the patient‐centric value of robotic surgery for cancer operations, surgeons and researchers should prioritize factors such as maintaining or improving oncological quality, promoting quicker functional recovery, reducing opioid use, and enhancing quality of life post‐surgery. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the health economics and value‐based care considerations in the context of robotic surgery for gastrointestinal cancers.

BackgroundCurrent national guidelines do not include hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemoperfusion (HIPEC) as treatment for gastric cancer, and there are no completed clinical trials of cytoreduction, gastrectomy, and HIPEC from the US.MethodsPatients with gastric adenocarcinoma and positive peritoneal cytology or carcinomatosis who had completed systemic chemotherapy and laparoscopic HIPEC underwent cytoreduction, gastrectomy, and HIPEC with 30 mg mitomycin C and 200 mg cisplatin. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS), with a secondary endpoint of postoperative complications (NCT02891447).ResultsWe enrolled 20 patients from September 2016 to March 2019. Six patients had positive cytology only and 14 had carcinomatosis. All patients were treated with systemic chemotherapy with a median of eight cycles (range 5–11 cycles) and at least one laparoscopic HIPEC. The median peritoneal carcinomatosis index at cytoreduction/gastrectomy/HIPEC was 2 (range 0–13). After surgery, the 90-day morbidity and mortality rates were 70% and 0%, respectively. Median length of hospital stay was 13 days (range 7–23 days); median follow-up was 33.5 months; median OS from the date of diagnosis of metastatic disease was 24.2 months; and median OS from the date of cytoreduction, gastrectomy, and HIPEC was 16.1 months. 1-, 2-, and 3-year OS rates from the diagnosis of metastatic disease were 90%, 50%, and 28%, respectively.ConclusionsSurvival rates for patients with gastric adenocarcinoma and peritoneal disease treated with cytoreduction, gastrectomy, and HIPEC are encouraging; our early results are similar to those of recent prospective registry studies. Multi-institutional and cooperative group trials should be supported to confirm survival and safety outcomes.

Background The annual number of pancreatoduodenectomies (PDs) in the United States has increased over the past decade, but the facility types driving this growth and whether outcomes have improved remain unclear. We aimed to identify characteristics of facilities with increasing PD volumes and assess national trends in centralization. Materials and Methods We queried the National Cancer Database to identify PD cases from 2011 to 2020. We categorized facilities by average annual PD volume (low [< 5 cases/year], medium [5–19], and high [≥ 20]) and compared changes in surgical outcomes and other factors over time across facility categories. We used logistic regression to identify factors associated with increasing annual PD volume. Results We identified 41 147 PD cases from 810 facilities (589 low‐, 171 medium‐, 50 high‐volume). Overall, the annual PD volume rose from 3217 in 2011 to 4355 in 2020. The increase was primarily due to medium‐volume facilities, which performed 903 more cases in 2020 than in 2011 (a 71% increase). Surgical outcomes improved over time across all facility categories, but outcomes at low‐ and medium‐volume facilities remained inferior to those at high‐volume facilities. Among medium‐volume facilities, the adoption of minimally invasive PD and a higher proportion of PDs for advanced‐stage disease were associated with increasing volume. Conclusion Medium‐volume facilities accounted for most of the recent growth in PD volume in the United States but continued to demonstrate less favorable outcomes than high‐volume centers. These findings underscore the importance of continued efforts to promote the outcome‐driven centralization of PD to improve surgical outcomes. Using NCDB data (2011–2020), we analyzed 41 147 pancreatoduodenectomies (PDs) across 810 U.S. hospitals, categorizing hospitals by annual case volume. National PD counts increased primarily at medium‐volume hospitals with little evidence of centralization; despite overall improvements, risk‐adjusted outcomes at medium‐ and low‐volume hospitals remained inferior to those at high‐volume hospitals. Among medium‐volume hospitals, greater adoption of minimally invasive PD and a higher share of advanced‐stage cases were independently associated with rising volume, indicating growth without commensurate improvements in outcomes.

Robotic surgery technology has significant advantages, but its limitations include lack of tactile feedback. Fluorescent-imaging technology, part of the da Vinci robotic surgery system, helps to overcome this lack of feedback and improve safety. This video demonstrates the utility of fluorescent-image guidance in robotic subtotal gastrectomy. First, peritumoral injection of indocyanine green helps localize the primary lesion. Second, it enables visualization of sentinel lymphatic flow to guide the extent of lymph node dissection. Third, intravenous injection of indocyanine green confirms adequate tissue perfusion of the remnant stomach. Lastly, fluorescent angiography also visualizes the jejunal arterial arcade in the mesentery. In summary, we consider that fluorescent-image guidance may provide important intraoperative information that supports techniques of robotic subtotal gastrectomy. Further studies to validate the benefits of fluorescent-image guidance are needed.

Background We sought to determine the sites of recurrence and identify predicting factors for recurrence and survival in patients who underwent gastrectomy for adenocarcinoma at an institution where preoperative therapy is commonly used for advanced gastric cancer. Methods We collected clinicopathologic data and sites of recurrence from a prospectively maintained database of patients who underwent potentially curative resection of gastric or gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma at our institution in 1995–2014, and we assessed associations between these characteristics and recurrence patterns and survival. Results We identified 488 patients who underwent R0 resection of localized gastric cancer. The median age was 63 years (interquartile range 53–71 years), and 60% were male. The most common T and N categories, per endoscopic ultrasonography, were T3 (58%) and N0 (61%). Preoperative treatment was used in 61% of patients. A total of 125 (26%) patients experienced recurrence during follow-up. Recurrences were locoregional in 19 patients (15%), peritoneal in 61 (49%), and nonperitoneal distant in 67 (54%). The peritoneum also was the most common organ of recurrence (49%), followed by the liver (21%). The median time from primary resection to recurrence was 2.7 years for locoregional, 1.3 years for peritoneal, and 0.6 years for nonperitoneal distant recurrence ( p  = 0.01). Median overall survival was markedly shorter after peritoneal and nonperitoneal distant recurrences than after locoregional recurrences. Conclusions The peritoneum was a common site of recurrence after curative resection of gastric cancer and was associated with poor survival. Prophylactic treatment targeting the peritoneal cavity might improve survival of advanced gastric cancer.

Background This study aimed to identify the yield of staging laparoscopy with peritoneal lavage cytology for gastric cancer patients and to track it over time. Methods The medical records of patients with gastric or gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma who underwent pretreatment staging laparoscopy at the authors’ institution from 1995 to 2012 were reviewed. The yield of laparoscopy was defined as the proportion of patients who had positive findings on laparoscopy, including those with macroscopic carcinomatosis, positive cytology, or other clinically important findings. To compare the yield of laparoscopy over time, the patients were divided into three 6-year ranges based on the date of diagnosis. Associations between clinicopathologic factors and peritoneal disease were examined using uni- and multivariate analyses. Results The study included 711 patients. Among these patients, 43.5 % had gastroesophageal junction tumors, 72.9 % had poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma, and 53 % had signet ring cell morphology. Endoscopic ultrasound had most commonly identified T3 (83.9 %) and N-positive (66.4 %) tumors. At laparoscopy, 148 (20.8 %) patients had been found to have macroscopic peritoneal carcinomatosis. Among 514 macroscopically negative patients who underwent peritoneal lavage cytologic analysis, 68 (13.2 %) had positive cytology results for malignancy. The total laparoscopy yield was 36 %, which did not change over time ( p = 0.58). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that positive cytology or carcinomatosis was associated with poorly differentiated histology, linitis plastica, and equivocal computed tomography findings. Conclusions Laparoscopy remains a useful staging procedure to evaluate for peritoneal spread when treatment or surgery is considered, even with the current availability of high-quality imaging.

PurposeAlthough laparoscopic hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (LS-HIPEC) has been proven safe in patients with gastric adenocarcinoma and carcinomatosis or positive cytology, patient selection criteria remain unclear. Thus, we perform a retrospective analysis to identify factors associated with improved survival and resection rates. Patients and MethodsData for all patients undergoing LS-HIPEC for stage IV gastric adenocarcinoma between June 2014 and November 2018 were collected prospectively and analyzed for associations with survival and resection using uni- and multivariate logistic regression, Cox proportional hazards models, and Kaplan–Meier survival functions.ResultsOf 70 patients who underwent LS-HIPEC, 43 (61%) received two drugs (mitomycin C and cisplatin), and 27 (39%) received three drugs (mitomycin C, cisplatin, and paclitaxel). The two groups’ demographic and oncologic differences were not significant, although the three-drug group had a significantly lower rate of radiation therapy use (58% vs. 15%; p < 0.01). Univariate analysis revealed that poor differentiation [Cox hazard ratio (HR) 2.75; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.34–5.63; p < 0.01], gross carcinomatosis (HR 3.10; 95% CI 1.52–6.30; p = 0.03), and ascites (HR 3.43; 95% CI 1.88–6.26; p < 0.01) were associated with shorter median survival. Gastrectomy was associated with improved overall survival (HR 0.32; 95% CI 0.15–0.70; p < 0.01). The resection rate of the 45 patients without ascites (38%) was significantly higher than that of the 25 patients with ascites (0%; p < 0.01).ConclusionsOur findings identify ascites as a significant prognostic factor for gastric cancer patients with peritoneal metastases undergoing LS-HIPEC. Our findings can be used to help identify patients who are unlikely to proceed to resection after LS-HIPEC and are good candidates for novel therapeutic approaches or clinical trials.

Background The prognosis of patients with linitis plastica (LP) gastric cancer is reported to be poor. The purpose of our retrospective study was to characterize the clinicopathologic features and survival outcomes of patients with LP, using a univocal definition. Methods We defined LP as gastric cancer that involves more than 1/3 of the gastric wall macroscopically. We reviewed a prospectively maintained institutional database of gastric cancer patients and summarized and compared clinicopathologic factors of patients with and without LP who had undergone gastrectomy. Patients were matched 1:1 using propensity score matching, and their overall survival (OS) rates and durations were compared. Multivariable Cox regression analyses were conducted, using gastrectomy as a time-varying covariate. Results We identified 740 patients with radiographically non-metastatic gastric cancer, 157 (21.2%) of whom had LP. Most patients with LP had advanced-stage disease (75.8% had stage IV disease, mainly due to peritoneal involvement). Patients with LP had significantly shorter OS durations than did those without LP in the entire cohort (median OS, 14.0 vs. 33.5 months; p value < 0.001) and in the surgical cohort (median OS after gastrectomy, 21.8 vs. 91.0 months; p < 0.001), as well as in the propensity-matched surgical cohort. In the LP cohort, chemotherapy (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.594; p = 0.076), chemoradiation therapy (HR = 0.346; p = 0.001), and gastrectomy (HR = 0.425; p = 0.003) were associated with a longer OS. Conclusions LP is a phenotype of gastric cancer that often presents at an advanced stage, with a high rate of peritoneal involvement. The survival durations of patients with LP were poor in our study, even in the surgical cohort. The use of preoperative chemotherapy, chemoradiation therapy, and gastrectomy appeared to be important in carefully selected patients with localized LP.

The current standard surgical procedure for proximal gastric and gastroesophageal junction (P/GEJ) cancers with limited esophageal involvement is total gastrectomy (TG). TG is associated with impaired appetite and weight loss due to decreased levels of ghrelin (a “hunger hormone” secreted by the stomach) and with anemia due to intrinsic factor loss and vitamin B12 malabsorption. Theoretically, proximal gastrectomy (PG) with an anti-reflux technique such as double-tract reconstruction (DTR) can improve quality of life (QoL) by preserving gastric function. 1 A recent Japanese prospective GEJ adenocarcinoma study reported a low incidence of lymph node metastases at peripyloric stations, 2 indicating the oncological safety of PG for GEJ adenocarcinoma regardless of tumor stage. As a result, PG is increasingly performed in South Korea and Japan, although the QoL benefit of PG over TG remains unknown. 3 , 4 We have performed PG with DTR in select cases with satisfying short-term outcomes. In this video, we introduce our technique for robotic PG with DTR. The presented case is a 75-year-old woman with GEJ adenocarcinoma that showed an excellent response to preoperative chemoradiation therapy. The patient underwent robotic PG with DTR. Fluorescent sentinel lymphatic mapping was performed by injecting indocyanine green solution (total of 2 ml, at four quadrants around the tumor at submucosal space) via endoscopy at the beginning of the operation. It showed absence of sentinel lymphatic flow to peripyloric lymph nodes, which were thus considered safe to preserve. Pathologic examination confirmed a complete response. The patient’s recovery was favorable, and she reported satisfaction with her QoL and good appetite, though some intermittent bloating after eating. PG with DTR has theoretical disadvantages including incomplete lymph node removal, which may result in recurrence; therefore, PG should be carefully performed for P/GEJ cancers with low risk of perigastric lymph node metastases, such as cT1 tumors or GEJ tumors with limited gastric involvement. 2 In addition, delayed gastric emptying of the remnant stomach can cause upper gastrointestinal symptoms such as reflux and bloating. The QoL benefits of PG with DTR must be demonstrated before encouraging its use in the USA and other countries. International collaboration is warranted to test the benefits and safety of PG, and the effective use of sentinel lymphatic mapping, to standardize the surgical care of patients with P/GEJ cancers.