Stomach Cancer Treatment
A treatment plan is designed to fit each patient's needs. Treatment for stomach cancer depends on the size, location, and extent of the tumor, the stage of the disease, the patient's general health, and other factors.
Many people who have cancer want to learn all they can about the disease and their treatment choices so they can take an active part in decisions about their medical care. The doctor is the best person to answer questions about their diagnosis and treatment plan.
When a person is diagnosed with cancer, shock and stress are natural reactions. These feelings may make it difficult for people to think of everything they want to ask the doctor. Often, it helps to make a list of questions. Also, to help remember what the doctor says, patients may take notes or ask whether they can use a tape recorder. Some people also want to have a family member or friend with them when they talk to the doctor, to take part in the discussion, to take notes, or just to listen. Patients should not feel the need to ask all their questions or remember all the answers at one time. They will have other chances to ask the doctor to explain things and to get more information.
When talking about treatment choices, the patient may want to ask about taking part in a research study. Such studies, called clinical trials, are designed to improve cancer treatment.
Patients and their loved ones are naturally concerned about the effectiveness of the treatment. Sometimes, they use statistics to try to figure out whether the patient will be cured, or how long he or she will live. It is important to remember, however, that statistics are averages based on large numbers of patients. They cannot be used to predict what will happen to a particular person because no two cancer patients, even with the same type of cancer, are alike; treatments and responses vary greatly. Patients may want to talk with the doctor about the chance of recovery (prognosis). When doctors talk about surviving cancer, they may use the term remission rather than cure. Even though many patients recover completely, doctors use this term because the disease can return. (The return of cancer is called a recurrence).
Methods of Treatment
Cancer of the stomach is difficult to cure unless it is found in an early stage (before it has begun to spread). Unfortunately, because early stomach cancer causes few symptoms, the disease is usually advanced when the diagnosis is made. However, advanced stomach cancer can be treated, and the symptoms can be relieved. Treatments for stomach cancer may include surgery, chemotherapy, and/or radiation therapy. New treatment approaches such as biological therapy and improved ways of using current methods are being studied in clinical trials. A patient may have one form of treatment or a combination of treatments.
Surgery is the most common treatment for stomach cancer. The operation is called gastrectomy. The surgeon removes part (subtotal or partial gastrectomy) or all (total gastrectomy) of the stomach, as well as some of the tissue around the stomach. After a subtotal gastrectomy, the doctor connects the remaining part of the stomach to the esophagus or the small intestine. After a total gastrectomy, the doctor connects the esophagus directly to the small intestine. Because cancer can spread through the lymphatic system, lymph nodes near the tumor are often removed during surgery so that the pathologist can check them for cancer cells. If cancer cells are in the lymph nodes, the disease may have spread to other parts of the body.
Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to kill cancer cells. This type of treatment is called systemic therapy because the drugs enter the bloodstream and travel through the body.
Clinical trials are in progress to find the best ways to use chemotherapy to treat stomach cancer. Scientists are exploring the benefits of giving chemotherapy before surgery to shrink the tumor, or as adjuvant therapy after surgery to destroy remaining cancer cells. Combination treatment with chemotherapy and radiation therapy is also under study. Doctors are testing a treatment in which anticancer drugs are put directly into the abdomen (intraperitoneal chemotherapy). Chemotherapy also is being studied as a treatment for cancer that has spread, and as a way to relieve symptoms of the disease.
Most anticancer drugs are given by injection; some are taken by mouth. The doctor may use one drug or a combination of drugs. Chemotherapy is given in cycles: a treatment period followed by a recovery period, then another treatment, and so on. Usually a person receives chemotherapy as an outpatient (at the hospital, at the doctor's office, or at home). However, depending on which drugs are given and the patient's general health, a short hospital stay may be needed.
Radiation therapy (also called radiotherapy) is the use of high-energy rays to damage cancer cells and stop them from growing. Like surgery, it is local therapy; radiation affects cancer cells only in the treated area. Radiation therapy is sometimes given after surgery to destroy cancer cells that may remain in the area. Researchers are conducting clinical trials to find out whether it is helpful to give radiation therapy during surgery (intraoperative radiation therapy). Radiation therapy can also be used to relieve pain or blockage.
The patient goes to the hospital or clinic each day for radiation therapy. Usually treatments are given 5 days a week for 5 to 6 weeks.
Biological therapy (also called immunotherapy) is a form of treatment that helps the body's immune system attack and destroy cancer cells. It may also help the body recover from some of the side effects of treatment. In clinical trials, doctors are studying biological therapy in combination with other treatments to try to prevent a recurrence of stomach cancer. In another use of biological therapy, patients who have low blood cell counts during or after chemotherapy may receive colony-stimulating factors to help restore the blood cell levels. Patients may need to stay in the hospital while receiving some types of biological therapy.
Clinical Trials
Many patients with stomach cancer are treated in clinical trials (treatment studies). Doctors conduct clinical trials to find out whether a new approach is both safe and effective and to answer scientific questions. Patients who take part in these studies are often first to receive treatments that have shown promise in laboratory research. In clinical trials, some patients may receive the new treatment while others receive the standard approach. In this way, doctors can compare different therapies. Patients who take part in a trial make an important contribution to medical science and may have the first chance to benefit from improved treatment methods. Researchers also use clinical trials to look for ways to reduce the side effects of treatment and to improve the quality of patients' lives.（copyright: http://www.medicinenet.com）
Stomach Cancer Treatment
