Gastric cancer: advances in adjuvant and adjunct therapy

Patients with gastric carcinoma remain at high risk for local and systemic relapses, even after a successful surgery (R0 resection). To reduce the rate of relapse and increase cure rates, several clinical adjuvant trials have been reported. Only a few studies have reported positive results and most have failed to demonstrate any benefit for the treated patients. The trials with positive results from chemotherapy or chemoimmunotherapy have not gained global acceptance. The Intergroup 0116 trial has gained acceptance in North America, but it has not been accepted globally. In North America, where gastric surgery is often less than optimal, the Intergroup 0116 trial has provided evidence of benefit in overall survival time and time-to-cancer progression for patients treated with postoperative chemoradiotherapy. This trial recruited 556 patients with resected gastric cancer from stage IB through IV and an R0 resection was mandatory for registration. The results of this trial have spurred many other studies and controversies. In our opinion, all of the patients in the West who have had a curatively resected node-positive gastric carcinoma (R0 resection) should be offered an option of receiving postoperative chemoradiotherapy.