Staging laparoscopy improves treatment decision-making for advanced gastric cancer

Table 1 Modality-specific staging criteria

Stage	Criteria
T stage	CT criteria
T2/3	Neoplasm shows focal or diffuse thickening of gastric wall with transmural involvement, is almost well enhanced, and has smooth outer wall border and clear fat plane around tumor
T4a	Transmural tumor with irregular or nodular outer border and/or perigastric fat infiltration
T4b	Obliteration of fat plane between gastric tumor and adjacent organ or invasion of adjacent organ
M stage	CT criteria
M0	Distant metastasis absent
M1	Distant metastasis present
T stage	EUS criteria
T2/3	Tumor extent beyond the muscularis propria up to 4 mm
T4a	Tumor extent beyond the muscularis propria greater than 4 mm
T4b	Direct extension and invasion of tumor into adjacent organ
M stage	EUS criteria
M0	Distant metastasis absent
M1	Distant metastasis present
T stage	SL criteria
T2/3	Tumor with clear and smooth outer gastric surface
T4a	Tumor with nodular or irregular outer gastric surface
T4b	infiltration of adjacent organs
M stage	SL criteria
M0	Distant metastasis absent
M1	Distant metastasis present

CT: Computed tomography; EUS: Endoscopic ultrasound; SL: Staging laparoscopy.