Adjuvant chemo-radiotherapy in patients with gastric cancer

The role of adjuvant therapy in gastric cancer has been controversial.

In this study, we report our experience with adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy in patients with non-metastatic gastric cancer.

Fifty patients were reviewed and assigned to three therapeutic groups.

Twenty patients received radiotherapy with concomitant administration of 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin on the first and last three days of radiotherapy; 20 patients received a five-day cycle 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin followed four to five weeks later by radiotherapy concomitant with the administration of fluorouracil on the first and the last three days of radiotherapy. Four weeks after radiotherapy two more five-day cycles of chemotherapy were administered; 10 patients received three cycles of cisplatin/docetaxel followed by radiotherapy and three additional cycles of chemotherapy after the completion of radiotherapy.

Patients were evaluated for treatment-related toxicity, local recurrences, distant metastases and deaths. We also aimed to make any possible comparisons between different chemo-radiation protocols.

Within a median follow-up of 21.5 months seven patients developed local recurrence and 17 patients developed distant metastases. The overall death proportion was 42% (95% CI 28.2-56.8%). Despite the limited number of patients, no statistically significant differences in local recurrences, distant metastases and deaths were observed between the three protocols. Acute and long-term treatment-related toxicity was low and no treatment-related deaths were observed.

Despite variations of chemotherapy, our study demonstrated that combined chemo-radiotherapy for patients with resected gastric cancer can be administered safely, with acceptable toxicity.