BACKGROUND: The frequency of tumors in the upper one-third of the stomach has been increasing. The standard operation for proximal gastric cancer has been total or proximal gastrectomy. The aim of this study was to present the pathologic and surgical results of 30 patients with early-stage proximal gastric cancer managed by proximal gastrectomy.METHODS: A consecutive series of 30 patients who underwent proximal gastrectomy for early-stage proximal gastric cancer was studied. Sixteen patients underwent jejunal interposition, while 14 underwent gastric tube reconstruction, which consisted of a direct anastomosis between the esophagus and the remnant of the tube-like stomach.RESULTS: Twenty patients (67%) had no abdominal symptoms and the lesions were detected by screening gastric fiberscopy. The tumors were mostly located along the lesser curvature (73%), were grossly depressed type (IIc) (70%), and histologically well differentiated type (63%). The depth of wall invasion was the mucosa in 12 patients, submucosa in 15, and muscularis propria in 3; lymph node metastasis was absent in 28 patients (93%). When compared with patients with jejunal interposition, patients with gastric tube reconstruction had a shorter operation time (327 vs 165 min), less blood loss (508 vs 151 g), and shorter hospital stay after operation (31 vs 17 days). Endoscopy and 24-h pH monitoring showed no evidence of reflux esophagitis, except in 1 patient with gastric tube reconstruction, and no patient died of recurrence.CONCLUSIONS: Early-stage proximal gastric cancer can be successfully treated by proximal gastrectomy. Since gastric tube reconstruction is a simple, easy, and safe procedure, proximal gastrectomy followed by gastric tube reconstruction is recommended for patients with early-stage proximal gastric cancer.