Abstract
Gastric cancer (GC) is the leading diagnosed malignancy worldwide, especially in China. Radical surgery is the cornerstone of GC treatment. We reviewed previous clinical trials and aimed to provide an update on the factors related to the surgical treatment of GC. The number of registered clinical trials in the field of GC surgery is rapidly increasing. With the development and popularization of endoscopic, laparoscopic, and robotic techniques, GC surgery has gradually entered a new era of precise minimally invasive surgery. Postoperative quality of life has become a major issue in addition to surgical oncological safety. Although great progress has been made in clinical research on GC in China, there are still deficiencies. Many studies enrolled large numbers of patients, but the research data were not of high quality. The characteristics of GC in China include a high incidence, large population, and large proportion of patients with advanced GC, which provides sufficient reason for studying this disease. There is still a need for well-designed, large, randomized clinical trials to improve our knowledge of the surgical treatment of GC.