A retrospective study on intensity-modulated radiation therapy combined with chemotherapy after D2 radical surgery for gastric carcinoma.

In order to investigate the clinical value of different chemotherapies, the efficacy of intensity-modulated radiation therapy with concurrent chemotherapy following D2 radical surgery for gastric carcinoma was evaluated in this study. A total of 102 patients who underwent D2 radical surgery for gastric carcinoma followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT) between January, 2008 and March, 2012, were selected. The 5/7 field intensity-modulated radiation therapy was used, with a planning target volume dose of 45 Gy in 25 fractions over 5 weeks. Among these patients, 45 were administered 400 mg/m2/day fluorouracil and 20 mg/m2/day tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol through intravenous infusion 4 days before and 3 days after the radiotherapy (F-CRT group), while 57 patients received 825 mg/m2 capecitabine orally twice a day (C-CRT group). The 3-year overall and the disease-free survival rates were 75.5 and 70.5%, respectively. The overall 3-year survival rates of the F-CRT and C-CRT groups were 72.2 and 78.5% (P>0.05), respectively, and the 3-year disease-free survival rates were 67.7 and 72.8% (P>0.05), respectively. No significant differences were observed between the two groups. However, during the concurrent CRT, significant differences were found in the incidence of grade 1-2 haematological toxicity between the F-CRT and C-CRT groups (73.3 vs. 50.9%, respectively; χ2 =5.320, P=0.021). Significant differences were also found in the incidence of grade 1-2 gastrointestinal reactions between the two groups (77.8 vs. 57.9%, respectively; χ2=4.474, P=0.034). Therefore, intensity-modulated radiation therapy combined with concurrent chemotherapy following D2 radical surgery for gastric cancer was found to be safe and effective. In addition, radiotherapy was better tolerated and more likely to be completed using C-CRT rather than F-CRT.