[Conversion Surgery for Stage IV Gastric Cancer]

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Surgical Oncology
• Gastroenterology

Background:

• Stage IV gastric cancer (GC) presents significant treatment challenges.
• Optimizing treatment strategies for advanced GC is crucial for improving patient prognosis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the clinicopathological factors and prognoses of Stage IV GC patients undergoing chemotherapy followed by R0 resection.
• To assess the feasibility and outcomes of neoadjuvant chemotherapy and subsequent surgical resection in advanced gastric cancer.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 5 Stage IV GC patients treated between 2004 and 2013.
• Patients received 2-6 courses of multi-agent chemotherapy before R0 resection.
• Clinicopathological data, treatment response, complications, and survival were analyzed.

Main Results:

• All 5 patients achieved R0 resection after chemotherapy.
• Histological response to chemotherapy was grade 1b or higher in all cases.
• Median survival time was 28 months (range: 14-61 months), with 2 patients alive and recurrence-free.

Conclusions:

• Chemotherapy followed by R0 resection can lead to long-term survival in select Stage IV gastric cancer patients.
• This combined approach demonstrates potential for managing advanced GC, even with distant metastases.
• Further research with larger cohorts is warranted to confirm these findings.