What starts at UCI Health can help shape the national conversation. At ASCO 2026, Maheswari Senthil, MD, chief of surgical oncology, discussed STOPGAP II — a national randomized clinical trial for patients with stage 4 gastric cancer and peritoneal carcinomatosis.

The trial grew out of STOPGAP I, a UCI Health-led study inspired by the number of younger patients in our region being diagnosed with advanced gastric cancer and limited treatment options. With support from the UC Irvine Anti-Cancer Challenge, STOPGAP I enrolled quickly and established the safety and feasibility needed to take the work to the national level.

Now, STOPGAP II is open, accruing ahead of expectations and is designed to test whether this approach can change the treatment paradigm for gastric carcinomatosis.