Dr. Atkins on the Role of Adjuvant Chemoradiation in Gastric Cancer

Katelyn M. Atkins, MD, PhD, radiation oncologist, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, discusses the role of adjuvant chemoradiation in gastric cancer.

Currently, perioperative or adjuvant chemotherapy is the standard of care for patients with gastric cancer, says Atkins. Adjuvant chemotherapy plus radiation therapy could be considered in select patients; however, the role of chemoradiation is not well defined, Atkins explains.

Patients who could be considered for adjuvant chemoradiation include those with positive margins after surgery, residual disease, inadequate surgical lymph node sampling, as well as those who had less than a D1 resection, says Atkins. Determining which patients could derive local control of their disease with chemoradiation requires a multidisciplinary discussion, concludes Atkins.