New: NCI-funded clinical trial search
Mednet Logo

How would you treat an early-stage gastric adenocarcinoma in a patient who is medically inoperable and not fit enough for chemotherapy?

Is there such thing a definitive radiotherapy in this setting, or would this be a purely palliative approach? If you would treat, what would your target and dose be to the intact tumor (and stomach).
3 Answers
Mednet Member
Mednet Member
Radiation Oncology · Prostate Cancer Institute of America
Answered on · Updated on

In my n=1 experience, I treated a medically inoperable patient with a T1N0M0 gastric body adenocarcinoma with "definitive" RT with mild Xeloda. I had the gastroenterologist place clips around the tumor. I treated the whole empty stomach and lymphatics to 45Gy and the gross disease to 54Gy. The patie...

Join for free or sign in to see the full answer

Mednet Member
Mednet MemberInvited Expert
Radiation Oncology · Fox Chase Cancer Center
Answered on · Updated on

I agree in general with @Dr. First Last. I have treated a small number of patients with chemoradiation alone. While I would hesitate to call this definitive therapy, there are good prospective data, (e.g. Ajani et al. JCO 2005) that demonstrate a significant (20-30%) path CR rate in the neoadjuvant ...

Join for free or sign in to see the full answer

Mednet Member
Mednet MemberInvited Expert
Radiation Oncology · Brigham and Women's Hospital
Answered on

One would need to make a judgment about whether a patient who cannot tolerate even an endoscopic resection can tolerate combined chemoradiation. The pCR rate for locally advanced gastric cancer with chemoRT is in the 20-30%. It is presumably higher with a T1a tumor, though I'm not aware of literatur...

Join for free or sign in to see the full answer