Nieuwe inzichten in de adjuvante behandeling van het maagcarcinoom

- The current standard treatment of patients with gastric cancer is partial or total stomach resection and dissection of the draining lymph nodes. This approach, however, results in a rather low survival rate, partly because the diagnosis is often established in an advanced stage.

- Various strategies, including adjuvant radiotherapy, chemotherapy or more extensive surgical procedures, have resulted mainly in increased morbidity without improving survival.

- In a recent randomised trial, concurrent postoperative radiotherapy and chemotherapy prolonged survival and reduced the chance of a local recurrence at an acceptable toxicity.

- Although several aspects of combined radiochemotherapy require further study, this new treatment concept appears to be a promising addition to the therapeutic arsenal for gastric cancer.