The treatment plan that’s best for your cancer will depend on several factors, including your general health and your cancer’s stage, grade and unique characteristics, such as whether your tumor has certain gene mutations or proteins.
In general, treatment for stomach cancer includes several types of therapy and many patients receive more that one of the following:
- Surgery to remove the cancer from your body during an operation.
- Medical therapy which uses drugs to fight the cancer. These therapies may include chemotherapy, targeted therapy and immunotherapy drugs.
- Radiation therapy to kill cancer cells using highly focused radiation beams.
- Cytoreduction surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemoperfusion. This highly specialized treatment involves extensive surgery to remove the cancer followed by delivering heated chemotherapy directly to the abdomen before the operation is completed.
- Clinical trials to gain access to the very latest anti-cancer agents and methods.
Metastatic stomach cancer
When stomach cancer spreads from its original place to another part of the body, the new tumor has the same kind of abnormal cells, and the same name, as the primary (original) tumor. The most common site for stomach cancer to metastasize is the peritoneum, followed by the liver and lungs. The disease is called distant or metastatic stomach cancer, and it’s treated as stomach cancer.
We offer additional advanced treatments for metastatic stomach cancer, including:
- Radiofrequency (RFA) and microwave ablation: For metastases in the liver or lung. A small probe inserted into the tumor springs open like an umbrella, and emits radio waves or microwaves that heat the tissue, killing cancer cells. These are minimally invasive technique, performed as an outpatient procedure.
- NanoKnife Irreversible Electroporation (IRE): This precision ablation technology sends high-voltage electricity into the tumor, without injuring critical nearby blood vessels.
- Cytoreductive Surgery /Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemoperfusion (CS/HIPEC): This treatment for abdominal metastases begins with surgery to remove as much tumor tissue as possible. Heated chemotherapy drugs are then circulated throughout the abdomen. Because the drugs stay in the abdominal cavity, higher doses can be used, improving effectiveness and reducing side effects.
When cancer spreads to your liver
When cancer spreads from its original location to the liver, these new tumors, called liver metastases, need special treatment. Roswell Park offers innovative and advanced therapies unavailable elsewhere in the region that can improve survival and potentially cure the disease.
If you’ve been told your liver metastases cannot be removed surgically or are inoperable or unresectable, please contact us and ask for a second opinion from the liver metastases team.