Current role of surgical therapy in gastric cancer

Surgery is currently the only potentially curative treatment for gastric cancer. Since the inception of the gastrectomy for cancer of the stomach, there has been debate over the bounds of surgical therapy, balancing potential long-term survival with perioperative morbidity and mortality. This review delineates the current role of surgery in preoperative staging, curative resection, and palliative treatment for gastric cancer. (C) 2006 The WJG Press. All rights reserved.