News
Early Oral Feeding After Gastric Cancer Surgery Significantly Reduces Hospital Stay, with Medical Big Data Study Honored as Best Presentation at the Annual Meeting of the Japanese Gastric Cancer Association
- March 6, 2026
A medical big data study led by Dr. Tsunehiko Maruyama, Director of the Gastroenterology Center at Mito Saiseikai General Hospital in Mito, Ibaraki, and Lecturer in Gastrointestinal Surgery at the University of Tsukuba, found that early initiation of oral intake after gastric cancer surgery contributes to a shorter length of hospital stay. The study was selected as the Best Presentation at the 98th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Gastric Cancer Association, held from March 4 to 6 at the Okinawa Convention Center.
The medical big data used in this study were derived from Japan’s largest medical database operated by Medical Data Vision Co., Ltd., headquartered in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, and led by President Hiroyuki Iwasaki, with a cumulative total of 55.95 million actual patients as of the end of February 2026.
Among 284,953 gastric cancer cases recorded over the five year period from August 2017 to July 2022, the study analyzed 26,097 patients who underwent surgery, clarifying real world patterns in the timing of postoperative oral intake initiation and evaluating the clinical significance of early oral feeding after gastric cancer surgery.
With reference to the gastric cancer treatment guidelines, patients who had at least one meal-related reimbursement code recorded by postoperative day 2 were defined as the “early oral intake group,” while all others were classified as the “non-early oral intake group.” The early oral intake group comprised 5,422 patients (20.8%), and the non-early oral intake group comprised 20,675 patients (79.2%).
A significantly higher proportion of patients initiated early oral intake at designated cancer care hospitals and at larger-scale institutions, suggesting that the timing of postoperative oral feeding is strongly influenced by institutional policies and operational practices. In addition, the postoperative length of hospital stay was significantly shorter in the early oral intake group (9 days) compared with the non-early oral intake group (12 days).
Dr. Tsunehiko Maruyama
of the research team
Comment from Dr. Maruyama
The concept of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery, or ERAS, has become widely adopted in perioperative management within gastrointestinal surgery. In particular, early initiation of oral intake after gastric cancer surgery has been reported to contribute to reduced postoperative complications and shorter hospital stays. However, the overall status and real world implementation across Japan have not been fully elucidated.
In this study, early oral intake within two days after surgery was introduced in approximately 20 percent of gastric cancer surgical cases, although the implementation rate was found to vary substantially depending on the institution and surgical procedure. Early initiation of oral intake was associated with a shorter postoperative length of stay, suggesting that it represents an important component of ERAS practice. Further standardization and broader adoption of early oral feeding are warranted going forward.