Preoperative chemotherapy for stage III–IV gastric carcinoma: Feasibility, response and outcome after complete resection

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Abstract
Despite extensive resection and systematic lymphadenectomy the prognosis of patients with locally advanced gastric carcinoma remains poor. The effect of preoperative outpatient chemotherapy with etoposide, doxorubicin and cisplatin was evaluated prospectively in 30 patients who had been shown by preoperative staging (including endosonography and surgical laparoscopy) to have gastric carcinoma stages IIIA, IIIB or IV. Haematological side‐effects were common and necessitated hospitalization in 13 of 30 patients. Complete clinical response to neoadjuvant therapy was observed in eight of 27 evaluable patients. Resection was performed in 27 of 30 patients, with complete macroscopic and microscopic tumour removal in 24. There were no deaths and no major morbidity following operation. On multivariate analysis complete clinical response (PPP=0.07). Recurrence occurred in 17 of 23 evaluable patients who had complete tumour removal, with relapse in the tumour bed or area of lymphatic drainage in 11. These data show that neoadjuvant therapy in patients with locally advanced gastric carcinoma is feasible and appears to increase the rate of complete tumour removal. More powerful and less toxic regimens are, however, required to improve the response rate and to delay or avoid recurrence after neoadjuvant chemotherapy.