Review: Palliative gastrectomy for stage IV carcinoma of stomach

Currently, there is still controversy on the issue of palliative gastrectomy for patients with advanced carcinoma of stomach in terms of safety and its benefits. From the data available in the literature, palliative gastrectomy seems to be associated with a better survival rate, better relief of symptoms and similar rates of perioperative morbidity and mortality when compared with laparotomy with or without gastrojejunostomy. However, all these studies are retrospective comparative studies or series that carried significant biases. This makes interpretation of the outcome difficult. A selective approach is advocated as palliative gastrectomy carries significant risks. Chinese Abstract Figure Chinese Abstract.