A clinical study on treatment of advanced gastric cancer by Chinese medical professors was introduced to the public in the 2014 annual meeting of American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) on Monday.

The "randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-center Phase III clinical study of Apatinib mesylate tablets in the treatment of advanced gastric cancer" is led by former chairman of the Chinese Society of Clinical Oncology (CSCO) Shukui Qin, and current vice-chairman Professor Jin Li, with the participation of 32 medical centers in China.

This year the ASCO scientific Committee has selected this study for oral presentation at the annual conference. The study report is also selected as 2014 ASCO annual excellent paper (Best of ASCO). Both represent the first-ever recognition and honor for Chinese medical oncologists developing innovative cancer therapy originated in China.

There are about 952,000 new gastric cancer cases each year worldwide, 47 percent of which are in China. Gastric cancer is ranked second in the incidence of malignant tumor in China, and some 352,300 people in China die of gastric cancer each year, ranking third in cancer mortality in the country.

As the early symptoms for gastric cancer are not typical and conventional endoscopy examination is not widely used, 60 to 80 percent of patients are diagnosed at late stages with few treatment options. In addition, the prognosis is poor, with no more than 20 percent of patients to survive 5 years or longer.

In recent decades, despite a lot of research efforts, there has been little success in the development of new drugs for treatment of advanced gastric cancer, resulting in great burden to patients, their families and the society. Apatinib, developed by Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine Co., Ltd., along with Chinese oncologist teams, is currently under registration review for marketing approval in China.

ASCO 2014 Annual Meeting was held in Chicago from May 30 to June 3. This is the largest annual event in the field of medical oncology in the world, attracting tens of thousands of participants each year.

ASCO is the world's most authoritative and influential academic group specializing in clinical oncology, and its annual meeting will showcase the most recent clinical advances in cancer treatment.