The Impact of Diagnostic Laparoscopy on Upstaging Patients with Siewert II and III Gastroesophageal Junction (GEJ) Cancer.

Background: The efficacy of routine diagnostic laparoscopy with cytologic evaluation for gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancer is variable with no set guidelines. We hypothesize that findings from diagnostic laparoscopy in Siewert II and III GEJ tumors may differ, where routine diagnostic laparoscopy with washings yields low upstaging results in Siewert II compared with Siewert III tumors.

Patients and methods: We reviewed patients with Siewert II/III GEJ cancer from 2012 through 2022 within our integrated health system. Chi-squared, Fisher's exact, and two-sample Wilcoxon rank-sum tests were utilized. The outcomes measured include likelihood of upstaging, cytology positivity, times to chemotherapy and surgery, and 5-year mortality using a multivariable Cox regression model.

Results: Of 265 patients with Siewert II diagnosis, 116 patients underwent a diagnostic laparoscopy while 149 patients did not. Median time to chemotherapy initiation and definitive surgery were increased among patients with diagnostic laparoscopy, with no difference observed in 5-year survival. For patients with Siewert II and III with a diagnostic laparoscopy, 5% of Siewert II were upstaged, compared with 17% of Siewert III (p = 0.025). Obtaining cytologic washings alone were less likely to be upstaged compared with receiving a biopsy with or without washings (5.2% vs. 17.3%, p = 0.039), and those with Siewert II were less likely than Siewert III to be upstaged after diagnostic laparoscopy (5.2% vs. 17.4%, p = 0.025).

Conclusions: Routine diagnostic laparoscopy yields a low upstaging rate in Siewert II GEJ adenocarcinomas (AC) while delaying treatment with no improvement on mortality. Expediting definitive surgery with selective biopsy in lieu of diagnostic laparoscopy may improve oncologic outcomes.