Role of palliative radiotherapy in bleeding control in patients with unresectable advanced gastric cancer

This study analyzed the clinical results of palliative radiotherapy for bleeding control in patients with unresectable advanced gastric cancer. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients who met the following inclusion criteria between January 2002 and June 2018: histologically proven gastric cancer, gastric tumor bleeding confirmed by upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, and palliative radiotherapy performed for hemostasis. The median radiotherapy dose was 30 Gy, with a daily dose ranging from 1.8 to 3 Gy. Sixty-one patients were included in this analysis. The study population was predominantly male (72.1%), with a median age of 62 years (range: 32-92). The median baseline hemoglobin level was 7.1 g/dL, and the most common presenting symptom of gastric tumor bleeding was melena (85.2%). Bleeding control was achieved in 54 (88.5%) patients. The median levels of hemoglobin at 1, 2, and 3 months after completion of radiotherapy were 10.1 g/dL, 10.2 g/dL, and 10.4 g/dL, respectively; these values were significantly different from that before radiotherapy (7.1 g/dL; p