Can late-stage gastric cancer be treated?

Written by Liu Liang
Oncology
Updated on March 16, 2025
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Patients with late-stage gastric cancer generally may not have the opportunity for curative surgery, which is mainly suitable for early-stage gastric cancer patients. For late-stage gastric cancer patients, the treatment plan should be chosen based on the specific condition of the patient. If the patient's general condition is relatively good, chemotherapy can be an option. The type of chemotherapy, whether intravenous combination chemotherapy or oral drugs like tegafur capsules or capecitabine, which generally have milder reactions, depends on the patient's condition. Additionally, late-stage gastric cancer patients can try molecular targeted therapy, such as anti-angiogenesis drugs like apatinib, etc. Therefore, treatment options should be selected based on specific circumstances. The use of medications should be conducted under the guidance of a doctor.

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Written by Liu Liang
Oncology
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Can stomach cancer be cured?

Whether gastric cancer can be cured depends greatly on the stage at which it is discovered. Clinically, if there is no recurrence or metastasis within five years, it is considered cured. The treatment of gastric cancer is primarily surgical. Therefore, for early-stage gastric cancer patients, if a surgeon assesses that curative surgery is feasible, it is recommended to perform a radical surgical resection. For stage I gastric cancer patients, the five-year survival rate after surgical treatment can generally reach over 90%, which is quite effective. However, for those with advanced gastric cancer, it is generally incurable. Treatments, including chemotherapy, targeted therapy, or optimal symptomatic supportive care, aim to alleviate the patient's suffering and extend their life, but generally cannot cure advanced gastric cancer.

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Written by Liu Liang
Oncology
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How to check for gastric cancer?

Gastroscopy is very important in the examination of gastric cancer, and taking a biopsy under gastroscopy is an important means of diagnosis. Other examinations include endoscopic ultrasound or enhanced abdominal CT and chest CT to assess the staging of the patient. With endoscopic ultrasound, we can see which layer of the stomach wall the tumor has invaded and then combine it with chest and abdominal CT scans to assess whether there is distant metastasis. Diagnosis requires gastroscopy with a biopsy taken during the procedure.

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Written by Ren Zheng Xin
Gastroenterology
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What can stomach cancer patients eat?

Gastric cancer refers to a malignant tumor that occurs in the gastric mucosal epithelium. Special attention should be paid to the diet, appropriately supplementing with multivitamins and consuming more fresh foods, such as fresh green vegetables and fruits. The diet should be diverse to avoid favoring certain foods overly and to ensure the intake of a variety of nutrients. It is also necessary to eat some meat for protein, avoid moldy foods, reduce the consumption of pickled, salted, smoked foods, and those rich in nitrites, and avoid the irritation from strong tea, coffee, and hard liquor. In addition to dietary measures, active treatment for early-stage gastric cancer can include endoscopic mucosal resection, or one may opt for a major gastric resection surgery or radiotherapy, while maintaining a good psychological state and sufficient sleep.

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Written by Liu Liang
Oncology
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What can someone with stomach cancer eat?

For the diet of stomach cancer patients, they should focus on eating easily digestible foods and maintain a balanced diet with frequent small meals. They can eat meat, eggs, vegetables, and fruits. However, they should avoid cancer-causing foods such as pickled products and barbecued foods, as well as overly greasy or hard-to-digest foods. There are no specific dietary prohibitions. As long as the patient has a good appetite and can tolerate food, they can eat many types of food.

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Written by Liu Liang
Oncology
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Is chemotherapy for gastric cancer torturous?

The first common side effect of chemotherapy drugs is gastrointestinal reactions, such as nausea, vomiting, decreased appetite, diarrhea, constipation, or bloating, and other such gastrointestinal symptoms. The second is bone marrow suppression, such as decreases in white blood cells and platelets; a decrease in white blood cells can easily lead to infections, and low platelets can lead to a tendency to bleed. There are also liver and kidney damage, numbness of hands and feet in the peripheral nervous system, and clinical symptoms such as fingernail darkening, pigmentation, or hand-foot syndrome caused by fluorouracil. The severity of chemotherapy side effects varies greatly among patients and is related to each patient's general condition, exhibiting significant individual differences. Some patients may experience severe reactions to chemotherapy, while others may have milder reactions. However, during chemotherapy, we provide corresponding symptomatic treatments such as gastric protection, antiemetics, and cardioprotection, among others, to try to minimize the side effects caused by chemotherapy.