Abdominal Cancer | Stomach Cancer Treatment

By Dr. Ganesh Nagarajan in Nanavati Max Institute of Cancer Care , Hepatobiliary Pancreatic Oncology Program

Apr 24 , 2023 | 2 min read

When abnormal cells grow uncontrollably anywhere between the groin and the chest, it can be broadly categorized as abdominal cancer. The organs that may initiate cancerous growth inside abdomen are esophagus, intestines, liver, gallbladder, stomach, pancreas, colon, and many blood vessels. The most common forms of abdominal cancer include liver cancer, gastric cancer, pancreatic cancer, renal cancer, and colorectal cancer. Some of the rare forms of abdominal cancers include:

Adrenocortical cancer that affects the adrenal glands
Primary peritoneal cancer that grows on the lining of the inside of the abdomen
Peritoneal mesothelioma that caused by exposure to asbestos

There are multiple treatment procedures to get rid of abdominal or stomach cancer depending on the stage of cancer. Some of the treatment procedures for abdominal cancer recovery are surgery, medication, radiation, and chemotherapy. Different types of surgeries are there for specific abdominal cancers. Gall bladder cancer can be treated using wedge resection, lymph node dissection, laparoscopic surgery, or cholecystectomy. Similarly, for stomach cancer, doctors prefer Gastrectomy or Gastroenterostomy depending on the amount of disease spread. For liver cancer, Hepatectomy or liver transplant are the suitable surgical treatment methods. Apart from surgery, other methods of liver cancer treatments are ablation, embolization Therapy, Radiation Therapy, Targeted Drug Therapy, immunotherapy, and Chemotherapy.

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Laparoscopic or minimally invasive cancer surgery is one of the most preferred options for both surgeons and patients to reproduce the best results of an open procedure with decreased surgical complications and postoperative recovery time. With the advancement of technologies, more evidence is emerging day-by-day about the safety and standardization of laparoscopy in abdominal cancer surgery.

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Chemotherapy and radiation therapy are general functions as supportive treatment to destroy the remaining cancer cells after surgery and reduce the chances of reoccurrence. A variety of advanced radiation options are there to treat all types of abdominal cancer. Some of the commonly used radiation therapies are three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy, Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), Image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT), stereotactic radiation therapy (SRT), Proton therapy, and so on.

For patients suffering from the advanced surface spread of cancer within the abdomen, with any trace on the outer side of the abdomen, HIPEC treatment or Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal chemotherapy is an effective treatment procedure. This is a specialized form of chemotherapy in which warm chemotherapy drugs are directly delivered to cancer cells in the abdomen region. Using this special type of practice, higher doses of chemotherapy drugs can be applied directly to cancer affected cells to kill them. Generally, doctors suggest Cytoreduction and HIPEC surgery together as a complete treatment package. First, the oncologists perform cytoreductive surgery to remove a cancerous tumor or a portion of it and then a HIPEC treatment to destroy the remaining cancer cells.

Nanavati Max Hospital Mumbai is a reputed healthcare organization offering state-of-the-art cancer treatment facilities for almost every type of cancer. Highly trained and skilled oncologists and other specialist doctors of this organization are always ready to evaluate your individual needs and develop the best treatment plan to help you defeat abdominal cancer and have a healthy life.

Reviewed By

Dr. Ganesh Nagarajan (Director - Hepato-Pancreatic-Biliary Surgery & Gastrointestinal Oncology)

Dr. Ganesh Nagarajan is the Director - Hepato-Pancreatic-Biliary Surgery & Gastrointestinal Oncology and one of the finest Oncosurgeons of India. With an experience of over 22 years, he specialises in surgeries for cancers of liver, bile duct and gall bladder, pancreatic resections for pancreatic cancer, colorectal, stomach, oesophageal and intestinal cancer, neuroendocrine tumours, abdominal sarcomas, retroperitoneal tumours, vascular resections and reconstructions in HPB tumours.