in traoperative radiation therapy for gastric adenocarcinoma

intraoperative radiation therapy (iort) is a multidisciplinary approach in which residual tumors or tumor beds are directly irradiated during a surgical procedure. to evaluate its efficacy, from 1985, we conducted a prospective study including non-metastatic gastric adenocarcinoma treated by surgery, iort (15 grays) and postoperative external beam radiotherapy (44 grays). up to 1993, 51 cases of gastric adenocarcinoma (20 pn0 and 31 pn1-2) have been included in the study. mortality and morbidity rates were not different from those of surgery alone. the overall 5 year survival rate was 59.1 %, and the pn1n2 5 year survival rate was 50.6'70. these promising results are comparable with those of asian randomized studies which demonstrate the possible value of iort in the treatment of gastric adenocarcinoma.