How to treat stomach cancer

Gastric cancer is a type of cancer that we often hear about in daily life. It is a common and difficult to cure malignant tumor that harms the health of many people. It is also the cancer with the highest incidence rate in the population today, so it causes panic among many people. Therefore, many people are particularly concerned about the treatment of gastric cancer. Let us take a look at the treatments of gastric cancer.

1. Surgical treatment Surgical treatment is divided into radical surgery, palliative surgery and short-circuit surgery.

1. Radical surgical resection: This concept is relative, referring to the subjective judgment that the tumor has been completely removed and the treatment effect can be achieved, but in fact only a part of it can be cured.

2. Palliative resection: refers to the subjective judgment that the tumor cannot be completely removed, but the main tumor mass can be removed. Removal of the tumor can relieve symptoms, prolong life, and create conditions for further comprehensive treatment.

3. Short-circuit surgery: It is mainly used for cases with pyloric obstruction where surgical resection is impossible. Gastrojejunostomy can relieve the obstruction.

2. Radiation therapy.

1. Preoperative radiotherapy: refers to the preoperative local irradiation for some advanced gastric cancers, where the tumor can be felt clinically, to improve the resection rate. 200 cGY each time, 5 times/week, for 4 weeks, totaling 4000 cGY. Surgery is performed 10-14 days after stopping radiotherapy. It can increase the local resection rate, but cannot affect the degree of lymph node metastasis. It takes 6 weeks before surgery. Therefore, the impact on 5-year survival is difficult to estimate.

2. Intraoperative radiotherapy: refers to a high-dose irradiation of the surgical field centered on the celiac artery before establishing gastrointestinal anastomosis after tumor resection, preferably 3000-3500 cGY. It can increase the 5-year survival rate of advanced gastric cancer by about 10%. During the operation, ensure that the intestines are isolated from the irradiation field to prevent radiation. 2. Postoperative radiotherapy: Most scholars believe that it is ineffective.

3. Except for early-stage gastric cancer, which does not require chemotherapy, other advanced gastric cancers should be appropriately treated with chemotherapy.

Systemic chemotherapy: The chemotherapy regimen is determined clinically. First, factors such as the tumor pathological type, location, and stage of the disease are considered. Gastric cancer is mostly adenocarcinoma, and drugs such as 5-FM, MMC, ADM, and MeCCNu are often used. Three courses of treatment should be performed in the first year after surgery, each course lasting about 2 months, and the second course should be performed after a 2-month break. Two courses of treatment are performed each year in the second and third years, and one course is performed each year in the fourth and fifth years. Chemotherapy is no longer necessary after five years.

The above are the main treatment methods for gastric cancer. Different treatment methods are given according to the different stages and degrees of gastric cancer. Regardless of the degree and stage of gastric cancer, timely treatment should be given, and doing the best to control the disease is the first thing gastric cancer patients should do.