Stomach Cancer

Stomach cancer is often diagnosed with imaging scans such as ultrasound and CT, and pathology tests such as an endoscopy or biopsy, although your doctor may use other techniques to identify the problem. You may also have other advanced tests to find out more about your cancer, where it’s located and which treatments are likely to be most effective. Some of these tests are also used to assess how well your treatment is working.

Find your nearest SunState Medical Specialists center to find out what diagnostic tests and scans are available in your local area. Whatever your outcome, our expert team will support you throughout your treatment journey.

We work with expert teams of gastrointestinal surgeons who are specially trained in surgical removal of tumors within the stomach. There are different procedures used for the stomach cancer treatment and your surgeon will recommend the most appropriate one for you depending on your tumor size and its location.

Endoscopic resection

Small cancers that are in their early stage and are unlikely to have spread to the surrounding lymph nodes can be removed during an endoscopy – where a flexible tube with a camera is passed through the throat. Your surgeon can feed specialist equipment through the endoscope to cut away the tumor and some of the surrounding of the healthy stomach tissue around it.

Subtotal gastrectomy

If the cancer is contained to one area, the affected part of the stomach can be removed and remaining healthy portion is reattached to the digestive system. A subtotal gastrectomy is usually recommended if the cancer is only found in the lower part of the stomach, but it can be used if it’s only in the upper portion too. During the procedure, your surgeon typically also removes some of the omentum, nearby lymph nodes and the spleen. Depending of the location of the tumor, part of the duodenum or esophagus may also be removed.

Total gastrectomy

For cancers that have spread throughout the stomach, or are found in the upper part of the stomach, your surgeon may recommend a total gastrectomy colectomy. In this procedure, your surgeon will remove your stomach, omentum and nearby lymph nodes, then reattach the esophagus to the small intestine. Some parts of the spleen, pancreas, esophagus and intestine may also be removed.

At SunState Medical Specialists we specialize in advanced radiation therapy techniques that are designed to be effective and minimize the side effects you’ll experience. As a leading radiation oncology provider in the U.S. and a global leader in cancer care, our broad experience and expertise means we offer advanced and innovative radiotherapy as standard.

Radiation therapy for stomach cancer

External beam radiation therapy (ERBT)

External beam radiation therapy (ERBT) delivers high-powered X-rays from outside the body, precisely targeting and shrinking or destroying tumors. Radiation therapy may be used alongside chemotherapy (chemoradiation) to shrink your stomach cancer tumor before surgery, or to kill any cancerous cells that remain after surgery.

At SunState Medical Specialists we offer fast access to the latest technologies and treatments that have been proven to make a difference. These include:

Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT)

IMRT is an advanced external beam radiation therapy technique where the beams of radiation are precisely shaped to exactly match your tumor and damage to adjacent healthy tissues is limited.

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At SunState Medical Specialists, we offer various drug therapies and a wide range of the latest anti-cancer drugs for stomach cancer treatment, including chemotherapy, targeted therapy and immunotherapy.

Chemotherapy for stomach cancers

Chemotherapy refers to drugs that destroy cancer cells. Our expert teams may recommend chemotherapy before or after other surgery, on its own, or with other targeted drugs. The type of chemotherapy you’ll receive will also depend on your how advanced your stomach cancer is. If your cancer has spread to other parts of your body, chemotherapy may help control its growth, relieve symptoms and improve your stomach cancer prognosis.

Targeted therapy for stomach cancer

As researchers know more about non-small cell stomach cancers, they have developed new treatments that can specifically target it. We use targeted therapy to seek and attack cellular activity that the cancer depends on to survive and grow. They are used depending on the specific genetic make up of your cancer. Types of targeted therapy for non-small cell stomach cancer include:

• Agiogenesis inhibitors – work by blocking the protein VEGF which promotes new blood vessel formation and helps tumors grow
• Monoclonal antibodies – suitable for stomach cancers with increased levels of HER2, a protein that encourages cancer cells to grow. Often given alongside chemotherapy to target HER2
• RTK inhibitors – block the proteins that are found near or on the surface of cancer cells that help the tumor grow. This is a treatment option for a rare type of stomach cancer called gastro-intestinal stromal tumors

Immunotherapy for stomach cancer

Immunotherapy helps your body’s own immune system to recognize and fight the cancer, it can be used to treat some kinds of advanced stomach cancers. Checkpoint inhibitors are an effective immunotherapy against some stomach cancers and they work by blocking the signals that stop the immune system from attacking the stomach cancer cells.

SunState Medical Specialists offers community-based cancer care and other services at convenient locations. The company’s purpose is to redefine the care experience by improving patient outcomes, access and care delivery. With advanced technology and innovative treatment options, skilled physicians and support staff offer comprehensive and coordinated care in radiation oncology, medical oncology, hematology, urology, diagnostics and surgical oncology.