Abstract:Objective To compare the therapeutic effects of endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) and surgical treatment for early gastric cancer.Methods The clinical data of patients with early gastric cancer who underwent ESD or surgical treatment in the Department of Gastroenterology and Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery of Ma'anshan People's Hospital from October 2021 to November 2024 and confirmed as T1N0M0 stage by postoperative pathological examination were collected. A total of 97 patients were included and divided into the ESD group (57 cases) and the surgical group (40 cases) according to different surgical methods. The gender, age, gastric cancer location, tumor size, length of hospital stay, hospitalization expenses, complications, relevant pathological results and follow-up status of the two groups were compared to comprehensively evaluate the efficacy and safety of ESD and surgical treatment for early gastric cancer.Results There were no statistically significant differences in gender composition, age, gastric cancer location and tumor size between the ESD group and the surgical group (P > 0.05). The ESD group was mainly high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia, accounting for 63.16% (36/57), adenocarcinoma accounted for 36.84% (21/57), and no signet ring cell carcinoma was found. The proportion of adenocarcinoma in the surgical group was 65.00% (26/40), which was higher than that in the ESD group (P < 0.05); the proportion of high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia was 15.00% (6/40), and 20.00% (8/40) of signet ring cell carcinoma was found. There was a statistically significant difference in invasion depth between the two groups (P < 0.05): most lesions in the ESD group were in the mucosal and submucosal layers, while most lesions in the surgical group were those breaking through the mucosa. The length of hospital stay and hospitalization expenses in the surgical group were higher than those in the ESD group (P > 0.05).Conclusion Compared with surgical treatment, ESD is safe and effective in the treatment of early gastric cancer, with the advantages of less trauma, shorter hospital stay and lower hospitalization expenses.