Preliminary trial of adjuvant surgery for advanced gastric cancer (original) (raw)

In patients with stage IV gastric cancer, systemic chemotherapy is the key treatment. Combination chemotherapy (cis-diamminedichloride platinum plus S-1 and docetaxel plus S-1) results in long-term survival in clinical practice. In selected cases, additional (adjuvant) surgery may result in further long-term survival. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of adjuvant surgery following the response to chemotherapy for advanced gastric cancer. Based on response to chemotherapy, the indications for adjuvant surgery (surgery after the response to chemotherapy) are that resection is expected to be curative rather than palliative, provided that no other distant metastases occur. The study included 20 advanced gastric cancer patients who had undergone gastrectomies after the response to the combination chemotherapy of docetaxel and S-1, between September 2003 and December 2008 at Hiroshima University Hospital. At a median follow-up of 980 days, the median overall survival was 855 days....