Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Alberts, S. R.
Right arrow Articles by van de Velde, C. J. H.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Alberts, S. R.
Right arrow Articles by van de Velde, C. J. H.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Annals of Oncology 14:ii31-ii36, 2003
© 2003 European Society for Medical Oncology

Gastric cancer: epidemiology, pathology and treatment

S. R. Alberts1, A. Cervantes2 and C. J. H. van de Velde3,+

1 Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA; 2 Hospital Clinico Universitario, Universidad de Valencia, Spain; 3 Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands

Abstract

Gastric cancer incidence and mortality has fallen dramatically over the last 50 years in many regions, but remains the second most common cancer worldwide. Despite a marked decline in fundic and distal tumors, there is a rising incidence of adenocarcinomas of the gastroesophageal junction and gastric cardia, particularly in Western nations. This may imply that there are in fact two diseases differing from each other in epidemiology, etiology, pathology and clinical expression. While surgical resection remains the cornerstone of gastric cancer treatment, the optimum extent of nodal resection remains controversial, with randomized studies failing to show that the D2 procedure improves survival when compared with D1 dissection. The high rate of recurrence and poor survival following surgery provides a rationale for the early use of adjuvant treatment. Adjuvant chemotherapy or adjuvant radiotherapy, when used alone, do not improve survival following resection. However, the results of the recent Intergroup 0116 study are promising in showing that the combination of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-based chemotherapy with radiotherapy significantly prolongs disease-free and overall survival when compared with no adjuvant treatment. In advanced gastric cancer, chemotherapy enhances quality of life and prolongs survival when compared with best supportive care. There is no agreed standard of treatment in this setting. Of the commonly used regimens, epirubicin plus cisplatin and 5-FU (ECF) probably has the strongest claim to this role. However, there is a pressing need for new agents, both cytotoxic and molecularly targeted, to be assessed in both the advanced and adjuvant settings.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 The OncologistHome page
C. Pozzo and C. Barone
Is There an Optimal Chemotherapy Regimen for the Treatment of Advanced Gastric Cancer That Will Provide a Platform for the Introduction of New Biological Agents?
Oncologist, July 1, 2008; 13(7): 794 - 806.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 JAMAHome page
P. Kaurah, A. MacMillan, N. Boyd, J. Senz, A. De Luca, N. Chun, G. Suriano, S. Zaor, L. Van Manen, C. Gilpin, et al.
Founder and Recurrent CDH1 Mutations in Families With Hereditary Diffuse Gastric Cancer
JAMA, June 6, 2007; 297(21): 2360 - 2372.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Jpn J Clin OncolHome page
S. S. Lee, J.-L. Lee, M.-H. Ryu, H. M. Chang, T. W. Kim, H.-J. Kang, W. K. Kim, J. S. Lee, and Y.-K. Kang
Combination Chemotherapy with Capecitabine (X) and Cisplatin (P) as First Line Treatment in Advanced Gastric Cancer: Experience of 223 Patients with Prognostic Factor Analysis
Jpn. J. Clin. Oncol., January 1, 2007; 37(1): 30 - 37.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Ann OncolHome page
M Orditura, E Martinelli, G Galizia, C Carlomagno, G Aurilio, L Vecchione, E. Lieto, S De Placido, G Catalano, F Ciardiello, et al.
Weekly docetaxel and capecitabine is not effective in the treatment of advanced gastric cancer: a phase II study
Ann. Onc., October 1, 2006; 17(10): 1529 - 1532.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Mol. Cell. ProteomicsHome page
P. Ellmark, J. Ingvarsson, A. Carlsson, B. S. Lundin, C. Wingren, and C. A. K. Borrebaeck
Identification of Protein Expression Signatures Associated with Helicobacter pylori Infection and Gastric Adenocarcinoma Using Recombinant Antibody Microarrays
Mol. Cell. Proteomics, September 1, 2006; 5(9): 1638 - 1646.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USAHome page
A. J. Syder, S. M. Karam, J. C. Mills, J. E. Ippolito, H. R. Ansari, V. Farook, and J. I. Gordon
A transgenic mouse model of metastatic carcinoma involving transdifferentiation of a gastric epithelial lineage progenitor to a neuroendocrine phenotype
PNAS, March 30, 2004; 101(13): 4471 - 4476.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.