New Standard of Care in Gastric Carcinoma

Gastric Carcinoma is often a fatal disease. Findings from a ten-year study gives us reason for optimism. A study was initiated where 603 gastric cancer patients were randomized to either surgery alone or surgery followed by radiation and chemotherapy with a median follow-up of 5 years.

The median duration of survival was 36 months in the RT+CT group and 27 months for the surgery only group. The median duration of relapse free survival was 30 months in the RT+.CT group and 19 months in the surgery only group. RT + CT appear to be a significant benefit.

Reference: NEJM 2001:345:725-730

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August 24, 2002