Dr Raghav SUNDAR National University Cancer Institute Singapore Link to biosketch

Abstract

The peritoneum is a common site of metastasis in advanced gastric cancer. Diagnostic laparoscopy is now routinely performed as part of disease staging leading to an earlier diagnosis of synchronous peritoneal metastasis. The biology of gastric cancer peritoneal metastasis is unique and aggressive, leading to a dismal prognosis. These tumors tend to be resistant to traditional systemic therapy, and yet, this remains the current standard-of-care recommended by most international clinical guidelines. As this is an area of unmet clinical need, several translational studies and clinical trials have focused on addressing this specific disease state. Advances in genomic sequencing and molecular profiling have revealed several promising therapeutic targets, elucidated novel biology, particularly on the role of the surrounding tumor microenvironment in gastric cancer peritoneal metastasis. Peritoneal-specific clinical trials are being designed with a combination of locoregional therapeutic strategies with systemic therapy. In this talk, we summarize the new knowledge of cancer biology, advances in surgical techniques and emergence of novel therapies, as an integrated strategy emerges to address gastric cancer peritoneal metastasis as a distinct clinical entity.