This article reports the guidelines for gastric cancer staging and treatment developed by the GIRCG, and contains comprehensive indications for clinical management, including radiological, endoscopic, surgical, pathological, and oncological paths.

The list of defined complications (soon to be validated in an international multicenter study) and the ongoing development of an electronic datasheet app to record them provide the basic infrastructure to reach the ultimate goals of standardized international data collection, establishment of benchmark results, and fostering of quality-improvement projects.

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This study identified the FGFR3/AKT axis as an escape pathway responsible for trastuzumab resistance in gastric cancer, thus indicating the inhibition of FGFR3 as a potential strategy to modulate this resistance. Clin Cancer Res; 22(24); 6164-75. ©2016 AACR.

In advanced gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma, the high frequency of nodal metastases and the related unfavorable long-term outcome achieved by means of surgical intervention alone are indicative of the need for aggressive multimodal treatment along with surgical intervention to improve long-term results.

Overall and disease-free survival rates after R0 resection of GC were unchanged over time.

Purpose: To analyze our experience with D3 lymphadenectomy in the treatment of advanced GC with specific reference to post-operative morbidity and mortality, incidence of para-aortic node (PAN) metastases, and long-term prognosis.Methods: Short-and long-term results of D3 lymphadenectomy were analyzed in 286 patients with advanced GC.Results: PAN metastases were demonstrated in 37 patients. PAN involvement was significantly higher in upper third tumours (29%) compared to middle and lower third (7%; P < 0.001). Eighty patients developed postoperative complications, being pulmonary disorders (6%), abdominal abscesses (4.5%) and pancreatic fistulas (3%) the most frequently observed. In-hospital mortality was 2%. Overall 5-year survival rate for R0 pT2-4 patients was 52%. When considering survival in relation to nodal involvement, both pN3 and non-regional lymph node metastases (M1a) patients showed a chance of long-term survival: 5-year survival was 31% for pN3 and 17% for M1a cases. Furthermore, the 5-year survival rate was remarkably high (about 60%) even in pN2 and pN3 subsets when no serosal invasion (pT2) was demonstrated.Conclusions: D3 lymphadenectomy should be considered in specialized centers for curative surgery of advanced GC, especially for upper third tumours, providing that an acceptable morbidity and no increase in mortality can be offered.

Aggressive multi-modal therapy with CRT followed by surgery in cT4 SCC of the thoracic esophagus is feasible. Surgery should be limited to patients with significant response to induction treatment and a high probability of R0 resection.