Laparoscopic gastrectomy plus hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) improves outcomes for gastric cancer patients with positive peritoneal lavage cytology.

• HIPEC-treated patients had significantly lower postoperative recurrence (66.7% vs. 90.9%) and visible metastasis (29.6% vs. 59.1%, p < 0.05).
• 3-year overall survival for HIPEC patients was 51.8% versus 18.2% for non-HIPEC (p = 0.005).

Consider HIPEC for eligible patients to enhance survival and reduce recurrence rates.

• Stage III cytology-negative patients had similar outcomes to HIPEC-treated patients (overall survival 56.4% vs. 51.8%, p = 0.39).