Surgery is often part of the treatment for stomach cancer that has not spread. For early-stage cancer,
you may only need to have an endoscopic resection. If the cancer has spread, treatment
may include chemotherapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy or radiation therapy.
Learn more about:
- Surgery for stomach cancer
- How the surgery is done
- Types of surgery
- Having a feeding tube
- What to expect after stomach surgery
Surgery for stomach cancer
Surgery aims to remove all of the stomach cancer while keeping as much of the stomach as possible. The surgeon will also remove some healthy tissue around the cancer to reduce the risk of it returning. Different types of surgery can be used depending on where the cancer is in the stomach.
For more on this, see our general section on Surgery.
How the surgery is done
The surgery will be done under a general anaesthetic. There are 3 main ways to perform surgery for stomach cancer:
- Open surgery (laparotomy) – The surgeon makes a long cut in the upper part of the abdomen from the breastbone to the bellybutton.
- Keyhole surgery – The surgeon makes some small cuts in the abdomen, then inserts a thin instrument with a light and camera (laparoscope) into one of the cuts. The surgeon puts tools into the other cuts and performs surgery using the images from the camera for guidance. Also called laparoscopic or minimally invasive surgery.
- Robotic surgery – This is a type of keyhole surgery where the surgeon uses robotic tools to remove the cancer through small cuts in the abdomen and/or chest.
Types of surgery
| Subtotal or partial gastrectomy | Only part of the stomach is removed when the cancer is in the lower part of the stomach. If necessary, nearby fatty tissue (omentum) and lymph nodes are also removed. A small part of the upper stomach attached to the oesophagus is usually left in place. |
| Total gastrectomy | The whole stomach is removed when the cancer is in the upper or middle part of the stomach. Nearby fatty tissue (omentum), lymph nodes and parts of nearby organs, if necessary, are also removed. The surgeon rejoins the oesophagus to the small bowel. |
| lymph node dissection | Also called lymphadenectomy, lymph nodes are removed from around your stomach to reduce the risk of the cancer coming back and to help in the staging of the staging of the cancer. |
| endoscopic resection | If you are diagnosed with very early stomach cancer, you may have an endoscopic resection. This aims to remove the whole tumour during the endoscopy so further treatment is not needed. An endoscopic resection is often done as a day procedure but in some cases, you may stay in hospital overnight. |
For an overview of what to expect at every stage of stomach cancer care, visit cancer.org.au. There you’ll find a short guide to what is recommended, from diagnosis to treatment and beyond.
→ READ MORE: Having a feeding tube
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Prof David I Watson, Matthew Flinders Distinguished Professor of Surgery, Flinders University, and Senior Consultant Surgeon, Oesophago-Gastric Surgery Unit, Flinders Medical Centre, SA; Prof Bryan Burmeister, Senior Radiation Oncologist, GenesisCare Fraser Coast and Hervey Bay Hospital, QLD; Dr Natalie Collier, Radiation Oncologist, Wollongong Hospital, NSW; A/Prof Melissa Eastgate, A/Executive Director, Cancer Care Services, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, QLD; Brett Hall, Consumer; Natalie Lalor, 13 11 20 Consultant, Cancer Council Victoria; Chris Menzies, Upper GI Cancer Nurse Consultant, Flinders Medical Centre and Southern Adelaide Local Health Network, SA; Stefanie Simnadis, Clinical Dietitian, St John of God Subiaco Hospital, WA; Prof Rajvinder Singh, Professor of Medicine, University of Adelaide, and Director, Gastroenterology Department and Head of Endoscopy, Lyell McEwin Hospital, SA.
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