How to Cope with Gastric Cancer? Is It Curable?

Update Date: 2024-05-17 Source: Network

After age 50, the most common malignancy is gastric cancer. The early symptoms of this malignancy are not very obvious, and even if there are some sporadic discomforts, they are easily confused with gastrointestinal diseases, often leading to missed opportunities for good treatment. The harmfulness of gastric cancer is very significant, and active control and treatment should be carried out regardless of when it is discovered. So, what should be done if gastric cancer is diagnosed? Can it be cured?

1. What should be done if gastric cancer is diagnosed?

Surgical treatment can be mainly divided into two categories: radical resection and palliative resection. Radical surgical resection for gastric cancer can be considered as the greatest helper for curing gastric cancer. It can remove the cancer lesion more thoroughly and remove the lymph nodes near the stomach. Palliative resection is mainly aimed at relieving some complications during the treatment process, such as obstruction, perforation, or bleeding.

Chemotherapy is sensitive to gastric cancer and can be used before, during, and after radical surgery for gastric cancer. Even for advanced gastric cancer, chemotherapy can prolong survival. Currently, there are many chemotherapy drugs for gastric cancer, including 5-Fu, Tegafur, Mitomycin, Cisplatin, Adriamycin, Cyclophosphamide, Etoposide, Xeloda, and Paclitaxel. The specific chemotherapy plan can be tailored to the patient's condition and sensitivity to the drugs.

Radiotherapy plays an auxiliary role in the treatment of gastric cancer. If surgical resection is not satisfactory, radiotherapy can be used to kill residual cancer lesions and prevent recurrence. Radiotherapy can also alleviate some obstructions or bleeding in patients.

Among various cancers, immunotherapy has relatively good effects in the treatment of gastric cancer. Especially for early gastric cancer patients, immunotherapy can be used after surgical resection. Patients who receive palliative treatment in the late stage can also choose this method. Immunotherapy mainly includes BCG, Lentinan, Interleukin, and Interferon.

2. Can gastric cancer be cured?

The treatment effect of gastric cancer is generally related to the timing of treatment. According to statistics, the 3-year survival rate after surgery for early gastric cancer is over 97%, the 5-year survival rate is over 90%, and the 10-year survival rate is over 60%. Therefore, the earlier gastric cancer is detected, the shorter the treatment course, and the higher the cure rate and survival rate, which is an important aspect of gastric cancer prevention and treatment. However, according to statistics, less than one-third of patients with gastric cancer are diagnosed within three months, meaning that only a minority of patients can receive timely treatment in the early stage of gastric cancer. Most patients are diagnosed in the middle or late stage, and the treatment effect is not ideal.