What are the principles of gastric cancer treatment

There are many treatments for gastric cancer, such as surgery, palliative treatment, and radiotherapy and chemotherapy. However, not every patient is suitable for the same treatment method. The most effective treatment should be selected according to their own condition. How to choose the treatment method generally follows the following principles:

1. Surgery is the first choice

Radical resection is currently the only treatment method that can potentially cure gastric cancer. Therefore, once gastric cancer is diagnosed, radical resection should be performed as soon as possible if the patient's general condition and the local anatomical conditions of the lesion permit.

2. Strive for palliative care

For patients who cannot undergo radical resection due to systemic or local reasons and in the advanced stage of the disease or serious complications of major organs such as the heart, lungs, and kidneys, palliative resection of the primary lesion of gastric cancer should be attempted based on the patient's specific circumstances to facilitate comprehensive treatment.

3. Adjuvant therapy

Even if radical resection is performed for advanced gastric cancer, there is still a high rate of tumor recurrence and metastasis due to the presence of subclinical metastatic lesions. Therefore, preoperative and postoperative radiotherapy, chemotherapy, traditional Chinese medicine treatment and other means must be actively supplemented to improve the efficacy.

4. Comprehensive treatment

For advanced gastric cancer that cannot be surgically removed, comprehensive treatment should be actively carried out. For most patients, it can still achieve the effect of improving symptoms and prolonging life.

The treatment of gastric cancer should be individualized according to the characteristics of the patient's local lesions and systemic condition, and various treatment methods should be used rationally to achieve the goal of radical cure while considering the quality of life. It is very important to strictly grasp the staging of gastric cancer when deciding on the treatment plan.