After a total gastrectomy, the surgeon connects the esophagus directly to the small intestine. Because cancer can spread through the lymphatic system, lymph nodes near the tumor are often removed during surgery so that the pathologist can check them for cancer cells. If cancer cells are in the lymph nodes, the disease may have spread to other parts of the body. Chemotherapy Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to kill cancer cells. This type of treatment is called systemic therapy because the drugs enter the bloodstream and travel through the body.
Clinical trials are in progress to find the best ways to use chemotherapy to treat stomach cancer.
Scientists are exploring the benefits of giving chemotherapy before surgery to shrink the tumor, or as therapy after surgery to destroy remaining cancer cells. Combination treatment with chemotherapy and radiation therapy is also under study. Physicians are testing a treatment called intraperitoneal chemotherapy in which anticancer drugs are put directly into the abdomen. Chemotherapy also is being studied as a treatment for cancer that has spread, and as a way to relieve symptoms of the disease. The physician may use one drug or a combination of drugs.