Treatment for Gastric Cancer - Surgical Treatment

Noh, Sung Hoon

Abstract

Surgery is the only hope to cure gastric cancer. The aim of surgery is the complete removal of the tumor (UICC RO-resection), which is known to be the only treatment modality proven effective and the most important treatment-related prognostic factor. The type of surgical treatment for gastric cancer is determined by the patient's medicosurgical status and the stage of disease. Improved survival and quality of life(QOL) are the major criteria for the therapeutic strategy. For patients with early gastric cancer, minimal invasive surgery is attempted for the improvement of QOL. Minimal invasive surgery can be performed only when there is no evidence for residual disease, especially in lymphnodes. Therefore, precise prediction and selection of node-negative patients is important for the application of minimal invasive surgery. However, long-term survival data are needed for these new techniques to become more generally accepted. For patients with advanced gastric cancer, aggressive and extended surgical approaches are recommended for the improvement of survival. Distal subtotal gastrectomy is the procedure of choice whenever tumor-free margin can be obtained, with the exception of proximal tumors that can be treated by total gastrectomy. Extended lymphadenectomy should be the choice of lymphadenectomy for experienced surgeons with a low morbidity and mortality. If a surgeon can perform combined resection of adjacent organs safely, it is recommended when a direct invasion is suspicious. Distal pancreatectomy should be avoided unless direct invasion is definite. Splenectomy for the purpose of lymph node dissection is be mandatory, and surgeons should consider preservation of the spleen when there is no definite splenic hilar lymph node enlargement or any direct invasion to the spleen. Cytoreductive surgery with intraperitoneal chemotherapy is a useful and promising procedure for the treatment of peritoneal metastasis. The therapeutic approach should be stratified according to the patient's status, tumor status,and QOL after resection. Above all, the treatment strategy should be specific and tailored to each patient for the improved survival and QOL.