The cancer may or may not have spread to lymph nodes very close to the tumor. Stage IV Cancer has spread to nearby tissues and to lymph nodes further away from the tumor or has spread to other parts of the body. It may come back in the stomach or in another part of the body such as the liver or lymph nodes. Treatment option overview How cancer of the stomach is treated There are treatments for most patients with cancer of the stomach. Radiation therapy and biological therapy are being tested in clinical trials.
Surgery is a common treatment of all stages of cancer of the stomach.
Total gastrectomy removes the entire stomach and parts of the esophagus, the small intestine, and other tissue near the tumor. The spleen is removed in some cases. The esophagus is connected to the small intestine so a patient can continue to eat and swallow. If only part of the stomach is removed, a patient should still be able to eat fairly normally. Frequent, small meals may need to be eaten, as well as foods low in sugar and high in fat and protein, if the entire stomach is removed.