How much progress has been made in minimally invasive surgery for gastric cancer in Korea?: a viewpoint from Korean prospective clinical trials.

Gastric cancer is the most common cancer in Korea. Because the incidence of gastric cancer is still high even with early detection and because of developments in surgical instruments and technological advances, minimally invasive surgery has rapidly become an accepted treatment for gastric cancer in Korea. Many Korean gastric surgeons have contributed to the rapid adaptation of minimally invasive surgery for gastric cancer: not only the Korean Laparoscopic Gastrointestinal Surgery Study (KLASS) group, but also other expert surgeons after the 2000s. Thanks to their vigorous efforts involving active learning, education, workshops, academic communications, and international communications with active laparoscopic gastric surgeons in Korea, numerous results and well-designed large-scale clinical studies have been published or are actively ongoing, thus increasing its wide acceptance as an option for gastric cancer. Now, Korea has become one of the leading countries using minimally invasive surgery for the treatment of gastric cancer. This review article will summarize the current status and issues, as well as the clinical trials that have finished or are ongoing, regarding minimally invasive surgery for gastric cancer in Korea.