Chemotherapy Before Surgery May Increase Survival in Stomach
Cancer Stomach (gastric) cancer, esophagogastric junction.
(Definitions of many terms related to cancer can be found in the
Cancer.gov Dictionary.) Confirming findings from an earlier
study, chemotherapy given before surgery for cancer of the lower
esophagus and stomach increased the number of patients surviving
for five years compared to surgery alone. Those receiving
chemotherapy also had better disease-free survival, and the side
effects from the treatment were considered manageable. American
Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting, Chicago,
June 3, 2007 (see the meeting abstract). Trial results were
published in the May 1, 2011, Journal of Clinical Oncology; see
the journal abstract. Surgery is usually the primary treatment
for adenocarcinoma arising in the area of the digestive system
which includes the stomach, the lower esophagus leading into the
stomach, and the part where they meet (the esophagogastric
junction). But surgery alon