Postoperative chemoradiotherapy results in gastric cancer patients from the middle black sea region of Turkey

Abstract

Objective: The incidence of gastric cancer shows significant geographical variation. Since publication of the United States Intergroup (INT-0116) trial, postoperative chemoradiotherapy has become standard practice in patients with stage 1B and higher gastric cancer in many centers of Turkey. Here, we report our results in stage 1B and higher gastric cancer patients treated with postoperative chemoradiotherapy from the Middle Black Sea Region of Turkey. Methods: Between March 2002 and October 2011, 69 patients were enrolled. The chemoradiotherapy protocol used in patients was similar to that of the INT-0116 trial, except for the radiotherapy dose for positive margin. Results: Eighty-four percent of all patients completed therapy as planned. The most frequent acute toxicities occurred in the gastrointestinal and hematopoietic systems, and most were grade 2. No late toxicities occurred. Fifty-five percent of failures occurred within 3 years, and 88% of all failures involved distant metastasis. The rates of disease-free and overall survivals after 3 years were 45% and 51%, respectively. In a multivariate analysis, overall survival was affected by pN stage and type of resection. Conclusion: Postoperative chemoradiotherapy is a feasible treatment strategy with acceptable toxicity and survival outcomes in patients with gastric cancer from the Middle Black Sea Region.