Preliminary trial of surgery after chemotherapy for advanced gastric cancer with peritoneal dissemination

Systemic chemotherapy is the key treatment for patients presenting with advanced gastric cancer with peritoneal dissemination. In certain cases, adjuvant surgery following systemic chemotherapy may result in improved long-term survival. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of adjuvant surgery following response to chemotherapy for advanced gastric cancer with peritoneal dissemination. The study included 13 patients with a diagnosis of advanced gastric cancer with peritoneal dissemination. Of the 13 patients, 5 patients underwent surgery after the peritoneal dissemination was eradicated following systemic chemotherapy (group S), while the remaining 8 patients continued to receive systemic chemotherapy due to persistent peritoneal dissemination (group C). All 13 patients underwent treatment between October 2008 and February 2011. The chemotherapy regimen included cis-diamminedichloride platinum plus S-1 (an oral fluoropyrimidine) or docetaxel plus S-1 for all patients. The median overall survival time of the 13 patients was 660 days. The survival time did not differ with patient response to chemotherapy. The median survival time of the patients in group S was 794 days, which was significantly higher than that of the patients in group C (505 days; p<0.05). One- and 2-year survival was observed in 100 and 60% of patients, respectively, in group S, and 66.7 and 0% of patients in group C. In conclusion, adjuvant surgery led to longer survival in patients having advanced gastric cancer with peritoneal dissemination, which was eradicated following systemic chemotherapy.