Stomach cancer is a somewhat treatable disease, with over half the patients with early stage disease being curable. Localized distal gastric cancer is 50 percent curable, although localized proximal gastric cancer has only a 10 to 15 percent five-year survival. Early-stage disease accounts for only 10 to 20 percent of all cases diagnosed in North America, however. Five-year survival for more advanced cancers ranges from around 20 percent for those with regional disease to almost nil for those with distant metastases. Treatment for metastatic cancer can relieve symptoms and sometimes prolong survival, but long remissions are not common. There is a need for new active treatment programs for gastric cancer.
Radical surgery is the only treatment that can lead to a cure, though lesser surgical procedures can play a significant role in therapy designed to relieve symptoms. Radiation and chemotherapy are also treatment options. Neither has been shown to improve the outlook for those with advanced tumors generally, although some patients with responsive tumors may benefit.
Surgery The ideal treatment is surgery, meaning that most or all of the stomach is removed (subtotal
or total gastrectomy) along with the surrounding lymph nodes . In early-stage disease (10 to 20 percent of all cases) over 50 percent are curable. But one-third of stomach cancers are inoperable at the time of diagnosis and require follow-up therapy with radiation and/or chemotherapy. About one-third can potentially be cured with surgery although very large operations may just increase the number of complications without increasing survival.
