Gastric cancer remains a prevalent worldwide illness that lacks a definitive cure. Recently, induction chemotherapy followed by concurrent chemoradiation has shown promising results in achieving a significant pathological response in locally advanced gastric cancer and improving survival rates. However, the optimal regimen for this approach continues to be a subject of discussion.

This retrospective cohort study was conducted on treatment-naïve patients with locally advanced gastric cancer who were referred to Imam Hossain General Hospital in Tehran, Iran, between April 2016 and March 2019. Eligible patients met the criteria of clinical T3-4 or nodal-positive stage, or both, and had non-metastatic resectable tumors. The patients were categorized into two groups: (a) the neoadjuvant group, which received induction chemotherapy (carboplatin AUC 2 and paclitaxel 50 mg/m2 weekly for 12 cycles) followed by concurrent neoadjuvant chemoradiation (radiotherapy 45–50 Gy/1.8 Gy per fraction concurrent with capecitabine 500 mg/m2 BID and oxaliplatin 40 mg/m2 weekly), and (b) the adjuvant group, which was treated with standard chemoradiation or chemotherapy regimens. The two groups were compared regarding the 3-year recurrence rate and 3-year overall survival.

A total of 102 patients were included in the study (63.7% male, mean age ± standard deviation 56 ± 13 years). Among these, 45 patients received neoadjuvant treatment, and 57 received adjuvant treatment. The neoadjuvant group had a higher proportion of patients with advanced disease (stage III: 91.1% vs. 57.9%, P = 0.001). In the neoadjuvant group, 20 patients (44.4%) achieved a complete pathologic response, and all underwent curative surgery. The neoadjuvant group exhibited a lower 3-year recurrence rate (13 [28.9%] vs. 33 [57.9%], P = 0.003) and a higher 3-year overall survival rate (36 [80%] vs. 32 [56.1%], P = 0.003).

Patients receiving induction chemotherapy with paclitaxel and carboplatin followed by chemoradiation demonstrated enhanced disease control and survival compared to standard adjuvant regimens. In addition, patients treated with the applied preoperative regimen in this study showed higher pathologic response and overall survival rates than in previous studies.