[Safety and feasibility of gastrectomy after neoadjuvant chemotherapy for gastric cancer]

The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and feasibility of gastrectomy after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with gastric cancer.

Forty-five patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy and curative gastrectomy between December 2002 and May 2011. Surgical complications were evaluated according to the Clavien- Dindo classification.

The median age of the patients was 63 years. Twenty-three patients received a PTX and CDDP regimen, 20 received an S-1 and CDDP regimen, 1 received an S-1 regimen, and 1 received an CPT-11 and CDDP regimen as neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Distal gastrectomy was performed in 6 patients, and total gastrectomy was performed in 39 patients. The median operation time was 268 minutes, and the median blood loss was 249.5 mL. Complications more severe than grade 2 were observed in 10 patients: anatomic bleeding( grade 3a) was observed in 2 patients; abdominal abscess( grade 2), in 1 patient; and pancreatic fistula( grade 2), in 7 patients. No surgical mortality was observed.

The results of our study suggest that gastrectomy after neoadjuvant chemotherapy for the treatment of patients with gastric cancer is safe and feasible.