245 © Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2019
S. H. Noh, W. J. Hyung (eds.), Surgery for Gastric Cancer,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-45583-8_21
Surgery After Neoadjuvant
Chemotherapy
Daniel Reim, Alexander Novotny,
and Christoph Schuhmacher
Introduction
Neoadjuvant/perioperative chemotherapy (CT)
for locally advanced gastric cancer has become a
routine clinical procedure on the base of recent
randomized controlled trials. This chapter
describes the European prospective randomized
controlled trials and focuses on their surgical
results. Outcome-related measures are described
from a surgical point of view. Numerous aspects
are discussed, and the infuence of surgical out-
comes on oncologic results is critically reviewed.
Clinical Trials for Neoadjuvant
Chemotherapy and Their Surgical
Outcomes
Neoadjuvant or perioperative CT is an accepted
and recommended therapeutic approach of GC
treatment in most European countries [1]. This
goes back to the results of the British MAGIC [2]
and the French FNLCC/FFCD trial [3], both of
which included a rather large number of patients
and were, thus, adequately powered. Both trials
directly compared surgery with or without neo-
adjuvant or perioperative CT and showed a sig-
nifcant beneft for the multimodal approach.
Different theoretical advantages of neoadju-
vant therapy over adjuvant therapy are discussed
for potentially resectable GC [4]. One is the usu-
ally better general health condition of patients in
the neoadjuvant setting. Another advantage is
that downstaging of the tumor may lead to higher
R0 resection rates. Several other benefts like
effects on occult metastasis or single tumor cell
dissemination (micrometastasis) at the earliest
point in time are also discussed.
The MAGIC trial is the presently most recog-
nized landmark study for perioperative CT [2].
Between 1994 and 2002 centers in the UK,
Europe and Asia recruited patients with resect-
able GC and adenocarcinomas of the esophago-
gastric junction (EGJ). Patients were randomized
to surgery with perioperative CT (n = 250) or sur-
gery only (n = 253). CT consisted of three
D. Reim (*) · A. Novotny · C. Schuhmacher (*)
Klinik und Poliklinik für Chirurgie,
TUM School of Medicine,
Munich, Germany
e-mail: Daniel.reim@tum.de;
christoph.schuhmacher@ecrin.org
21
Statement: This review fully has not been published or
submitted before. All authors declare that they partici-
pated in the literature review and that they have seen and
approved the fnal version. None of the authors have any
conficts of interest. No funds or grants or company gifts
have been received, nor has the article been written by a
third party.