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Improved Survival with Gastric Cancer
Chemotherapy combined with radiation after surgery for gastric cancer significantly increases a patient's chance of survival.
Researchers followed more than 550 patients who received either surgery in conjunction with radiation therapy or surgery alone. They found significant benefits in using radiation therapy in combination with chemotherapy. Stephen Smalley, M.D., from the Olathe Regional Oncology Center in Kansas, says, "The estimated 5-year disease-free survival is 42 percent in the treatment group and 22 percent in the surgery-only group." The side effects of the radiation therapy were significant but nearly doubled the likelihood of survival.
Dr. Smalley adds, "For patients with complete resection of stomach cancer, this therapy is now standard treatment and represents a step forward." The results of the study were presented at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology meeting in Boston, Massachusetts.
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