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Abstract
Background: This study analyzed the clinical results of palliative radiotherapy for bleeding control in patients with unresectable advanced gastric cancer.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients who met the following inclusion criteria between January 2002 and June 2018: histologically proven gastric cancer, gastric tumor bleeding confirmed by upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, and palliative radiotherapy performed for hemostasis. The median radiotherapy dose was 30 Gy, with a daily dose ranging from 1.8 to 3 Gy.

Results: Sixty-one patients were included in this analysis. The study population was predominantly male (72.1%), with a median age of 62 years (range: 32-92). The median baseline hemoglobin level was 7.1 g/dL, and the most common presenting symptom of gastric tumor bleeding was melena (85.2%). Bleeding control was achieved in 54 (88.5%) patients. The median levels of hemoglobin at 1, 2, and 3 months after completion of radiotherapy were 10.1 g/dL, 10.2 g/dL, and 10.4 g/dL, respectively; these values were significantly different from that before radiotherapy (7.1 g/dL; p < 0.001). The median overall survival was 4.8 months. Among the 54 patients who achieved bleeding control after radiotherapy, 19 (35.2%) experienced re-bleeding during the follow-up period. The median time to re-bleeding was 6.0 months. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that a higher radiation dose (p = 0.007) and additional chemotherapy after radiotherapy (p = 0.004) were significant factors for prolonging the time to re-bleeding.

Conclusions: Tumor bleeding was adequately controlled by radiotherapy in patients with unresectable advanced gastric cancer.

Affiliations

Jesang Yu  1 , Jinhong Jung  1 , Sook Ryun Park  2 , Min-Hee Ryu  2 , Jin-Hong Park  1 , Jong Hoon Kim  1 , Sang Min Yoon  3
1 Department of Radiation Oncology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, 88, Olympic-ro 43-gil, Songpa-gu, Seoul, 05505, Republic of Korea.
2 Department of Oncology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
3 Department of Radiation Oncology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, 88, Olympic-ro 43-gil, Songpa-gu, Seoul, 05505, Republic of Korea. drsmyoon@amc.seoul.kr.