J Korean Gastric Cancer Assoc.  2005 Sep;5(3):139-145.

Preoperative Chemotherapy in Gastric Cancer

• Hong YS
• Park CH

Abstract

Gastric cancer is the most prevalent cancer in Korea and comprises the second cause of cancer death. Surgery only can provide chance of cure, but most locally advanced cancers recur after a curative resection, even though important advances in the surgical and nonsurgical treatments of gastric cancer have taken place. Preoperative chemotherapy theoretically can provide the advantages of reducing the bulk of tumor, which might improve the R0 resection rate, and of treating micrometastases early. Also, preoperative chemotherapy is expected to render unresectable tumors resectable without increasing postoperative morbidity and mortality. There are many new chemotherapeutic agents available for the treatment of advanced gastric cancer, but still the most effective agent, the optimal time and number of cycle for administration are still not known. The addition of postoperative chemotherapy through an intraperitoneal route and/or radiotherapy might affect the outcome of surgery favorably, but that hasn't been proved yet. A multicenter prospective randomized phase III trial should be performed to answer for those questions and to improve the curability of gastric cancer treatment.

Keyword

Gastric cancer; Curative resection; Preoperative chemotherapy; Prospective randomized phase III clinical trial

MeSH Terms

Drug Therapy*
Korea
Mortality
Neoplasm Micrometastasis
Radiotherapy
Stomach Neoplasms*