Progress of preoperative and postoperative radiotherapy in gastric cancer

• Main Authors: Nan Zhang, Qian Fei, Jiajia Gu, Li Yin, Xia He
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2018-09-01
• Series: World Journal of Surgical Oncology
• Subjects: Gastric carcinoma; Radiotherapy; Radiation field; D2 lymph node dissection
• Online Access: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12957-018-1490-7

Abstract Background Gastric carcinoma, a highly common malignant tumor, is treated mainly by surgery. Meanwhile, radiotherapy is attracting increased attention as a crucial locoregional therapy. However, the application of radiotherapy in gastric carcinoma is still limited and radiation standards remain debatable. Main body The use of preoperative radiotherapy for treating gastroesophageal junction cancer has advanced. However, additional phase III clinical trials are needed to further verify the therapeutic value of preoperative radiotherapy for gastric cancer. Patients with D1 or D1 plus lymphadenectomy can benefit from postoperative radiotherapy obviously, and postoperative radiotherapy may be effective for patients with D2 lymphadenectomy with a high N stage. The target volume delineation of preoperative and postoperative radiotherapy should be based on clinical experience and the characteristics of lymphatic drainage. Conclusions With the advancement of radiotherapy technology, preoperative and postoperative radiotherapy are becoming increasingly accepted as important auxiliary treatments for gastric cancer.