The effectiveness and safety of ¹²⁵I seed implantation for treatment of gastric cancer

Objective: To explore the effectiveness of ¹²⁵I seed implantation for gastric cancer and to determine whether the therapy could increase the survival rate. Methods: Seventy-six gastric cancer patients in stage Ⅱ or Ⅲ were involved and randomly divided into treatment group (n=42) and control group (n=34) by simple random sampling method. The patients in the control group underwent D2 or D3 surgery and the patients in treatment group underwent D2 or D3 surgery plus interstitial implantation of ¹²⁵I seeds. All patients signed the informed consents. Treatment results were evaluated as CR, PR, NC and PD. CR and PR were considered as effective and the effective rate was calculated. All patients were followed up and the three-or five-year survival rate was calculated, the complications were examined. χ² test was used to compare the significant difference between the two groups. Results: The total effective rate in control group was 50.00% (17/34), lower than that of treatment group (73.81%, 31/42; χ²=4.578, P<0.05). In the treatment group, the three-year and five-year survival rates were 61.90% (26/42) and 42.86% (18/42) respectively, and the corresponding rates in the control group were 11.76%(4/34) and 0(0/34) respectively (χ²=19.771, 19.094, both P<0.001). Both of the two groups had few severe side effects. Conclusion: Radical surgery plus ¹²⁵I seed implantation is effective and safe for the treatment of stage Ⅱ or Ⅲ gastric cancer and can further improve long-term survival. (authors)