Zhang YL, Zong L, Hu HB. Endoscopic submucosal dissection for early gastric cancer: A review of comparative perspectives on treatment outcomes vs gastrectomy. World J Gastrointest Surg 2026; 18(5): 118341 [DOI: 10.4240/wjgs.v18.i5.118341]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Liang Zong, MD, PhD, Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The Affiliated Hospital of Changzhi Medical College, Changzhi People’s Hospital, No. 502 Changxing Middle Road, Changzhi 046000, Shanxi Province, China. 250537471@qq.com
Research Domain of This Article
Surgery
Article-Type of This Article
review-article
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Baishideng Publishing Group Inc, 7041 Koll Center Parkway, Suite 160, Pleasanton, CA 94566, USA
Share the Article
Zhang YL, Zong L, Hu HB. Endoscopic submucosal dissection for early gastric cancer: A review of comparative perspectives on treatment outcomes vs gastrectomy. World J Gastrointest Surg 2026; 18(5): 118341 [DOI: 10.4240/wjgs.v18.i5.118341]
World J Gastrointest Surg. May 27, 2026; 18(5): 118341 Published online May 27, 2026. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v18.i5.118341
Endoscopic submucosal dissection for early gastric cancer: A review of comparative perspectives on treatment outcomes vs gastrectomy
Yu-Lian Zhang, Liang Zong, Hai-Bo Hu
Yu-Lian Zhang, Liang Zong, Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The Affiliated Hospital of Changzhi Medical College, Changzhi People’s Hospital, Changzhi 046000, Shanxi Province, China
Liang Zong, Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Jincheng General Hospital, Jincheng 048000, Shanxi Province, China
Hai-Bo Hu, Department of Gastroenterology, The Affiliated Hospital of Changzhi Medical College, Changzhi People’s Hospital, Changzhi 046000, Shanxi Province, China
Co-corresponding authors: Liang Zong and Hai-Bo Hu.
Author contributions: Zhang YL was responsible for conceptualization (lead) and writing, editing and review; Zong L and Hu HB were responsible for supervision and project administration as co-corresponding authors; all of the authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript to be published.
Supported by the Scientific Activities of Selected Returned Overseas Professionals in Shanxi Province, No. 20220056; and “Four Batches” Innovation Plan for Promoting Medicine through Science and Technology, No. 2020TD27.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare no conflict of interest in publishing the manuscript.
Corresponding author: Liang Zong, MD, PhD, Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The Affiliated Hospital of Changzhi Medical College, Changzhi People’s Hospital, No. 502 Changxing Middle Road, Changzhi 046000, Shanxi Province, China. 250537471@qq.com
Received: December 30, 2025 Revised: January 15, 2026 Accepted: February 6, 2026 Published online: May 27, 2026 Processing time: 149 Days and 3.8 Hours
Abstract
Endoscopic submucosal dissection is a key technique for the minimally invasive treatment of early-stage gastric cancer. Offering the advantages of minimal trauma, high safety and the ability to resect tumours intact, it has been incorporated into standard treatment protocols in many countries. This article systematically reviews the clinical value, recent developments and controversies surrounding endoscopic submucosal dissection, drawing on relevant research and clinical guidelines. It compares its efficacy with that of surgical procedures, clarifies the criteria for indications, analyses the bottlenecks in its application and proposes future research directions, thereby providing a reference for its standardised clinical application.
Core Tip: Drawing on a retrospective cohort study of 206 cases, as well as relevant guidelines and controlled trials, this article provides a systematic review of the application of endoscopic submucosal dissection in the treatment of early-stage gastric cancer. It highlights the procedure’s minimally invasive and safe advantages, as well as its status as a standard treatment in multiple countries. Furthermore, the article summarises recent developments, ongoing debates, comparative efficacy data and indications, whilst proposing future research directions, identifying application bottlenecks and offering recommendations for wider adoption.
