Treatments for stage 2 and stage 3 stomach cancer

The following are treatment options for stage 2 and stage 3 stomach cancer. Your healthcare team will suggest treatments based on your needs and work with you to develop a treatment plan.

Surgery is a main treatment for stage 2 or 3 stomach cancer.

A gastrectomy is done to remove all or part of the stomach. The type of gastrectomy done depends on the size of the tumour and where the cancer is within the stomach. Lymph nodes around the stomach are also removed (called a lymph node dissection).

Chemoradiation or chemotherapy is almost always offered with surgery for stage 2 or 3 stomach cancer. You may be given:

• chemoradiation after surgery (adjuvant chemoradiation)
• chemotherapy both before and after surgery (perioperative chemotherapy)
• chemotherapy alone after surgery (adjuvant chemotherapy)

If surgery can't be done, chemoradiation or chemotherapy may be used alone.

Fluorouracil (also called 5-fluorouracil or 5-FU) is often used alone or in combination with other drugs for stage 2 or 3 stomach cancer.

External radiation therapy is usually given as a part of chemoradiation for stage 2 or 3 stomach cancer. You may be offered external radiation therapy alone if surgery can't be done.

Talk to your doctor about clinical trials open to people with stomach cancer in Canada. Clinical trials look at new ways to prevent, find and treat cancer. Find out more about clinical trials.