Management of gastric cancer

Purpose of review: Gastric cancer is an uncommon cancer in the United States but is a very common cancer globally and is endemic in East Asia. It is a virulent cancer that presents with metastatic disease in about one half of United States patients. Recent findings: In this review article, we discuss palliative chemotherapy options as well as validated preoperative, perioperative and postoperative strategies for locally advanced disease, which include chemotherapy and/or chemoradiation. Summary: In the metastatic setting, there has been incremental improvement in cytotoxic chemotherapy combinations in the past 2 decades. Two targeted agents – trastuzumab and ramucirumab – are now approved. In the locally advanced setting, perioperative chemotherapy or postoperative chemotherapy or chemoradiation improves outcomes relative to surgery alone.
Source: Current Opinion in Gastroenterology - Category: Gastroenterology Tags: STOMACH AND DUODENUM: Edited by Mitchell L. Schubert Source Type: research