Staging laparoscopy improves diagnosis of incurable gastric cancer.

A population-based study indicates that staging laparoscopy in gastric cancer patients increased from 19.6% in 2016 to 32.3% in 2021 (p<0.001). Concurrently, the prevalence of synchronous peritoneal metastases rose from 25% to 31%. Among patients undergoing staging laparoscopy, 37.6% were diagnosed with incurable disease, leading to significantly lower treatment rates with triplet regimens (18.5% vs. 76.3%; p<0.001). This highlights the procedure's role in preventing futile surgeries and refining treatment decisions.