[Neoadjuvant chemotherapy for gastric cancer. Frequent overtreatment or meaningful concept?]

Neoadjuvant or perioperative therapy with radical surgery is a meaningful approach to improve the prognosis of gastric cancer. The FLOT regimen (5-fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin, docetaxel) has been established as a perioperative concept in Germany and is also increasingly being used internationally. The prognostic significance of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy has to be awaited based on the results of currently active studies. The microsatellite instability (MSI) status has increasingly gained in importance with respect to decision-making processes in the interdisciplinary tumor board as patients with MSI tumors probably do not benefit from neoadjuvant therapy. Patients with only initial stages of locally advanced MSI tumors (cT2, N0) and those with comorbidities could be spared from neoadjuvant therapy. This article critically deals with the current state of the art concepts as well as with ongoing studies with respect to neoadjuvant and perioperative treatment of gastric cancer. For this purpose, the essential already published and the active studies are presented.