Comparison between endoscopic submucosal resection and surgery for the curative resection of undifferentiated-type early gastric cancer within expanded indications: a nationwide multi-center study.

Background And Aims: Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) for undifferentiated early gastric cancer (UD EGC) has debate due to the risk of lymph node metastasis. We investigated the outcomes of ESD compared to those of surgery for the UD EGC within expanded indication.

Methods: We reviewed 971 UD EGC patients performed ESD across 18 hospitals in Korea and 1812 patients who underwent surgical resection in two hospitals between February 2005 and May 2015.