The main forms of radiotherapy for gastric cancer

Radiotherapy is one of the commonly used methods in the treatment of gastric cancer. It refers to the use of high-dose radiation produced by special equipment to irradiate cancerous tumors, kill or destroy cancer cells, and inhibit their growth, reproduction, and spread.

Radiotherapy can be divided into 4 forms according to the indications for gastric cancer:

1. Preoperative radiotherapy: Patients with advanced gastric cancer, ulcerative or sclerosing cancer located in the pyloric antrum and gastric body, with a maximum diameter of less than 6 cm, who are generally in good condition and are suitable for surgical exploration, should receive preoperative radiotherapy.

2. Intraoperative radiotherapy: Suitable for patients with stage II, stage III and limited stage IV (pancreas or transverse colon involvement) who can be surgically resected.

3. Postoperative radiotherapy: If the tumor has been basically removed and there are residual subclinical lesions or microscopic lesions, postoperative radiotherapy can be performed.

4. Palliative radiotherapy: For patients with locally advanced disease who cannot undergo surgery, palliative radiotherapy is available as long as their general condition can tolerate radiotherapy. Palliative radiotherapy has a good hemostatic effect on bleeding caused by tumor rupture. In recent years, due to the popularity of interventional radiology, selective arterial embolization has a better hemostatic effect.

Radiotherapy, like chemotherapy, kills cancer cells and indiscriminately kills normal cells, which weakens the body's immunity and causes a series of side effects. Chemotherapy can also be supplemented with Chinese medicine to reduce the harm caused by the side effects of radiotherapy and chemotherapy to patients, improve their quality of life, and pay attention to diet and necessary exercise.