Irinotecan Versus Only Best Supportive Care for Gastric Cancer

Inclusion Criteria:

* Patient with histologically proven adenocarcinoma of stomach or the gastro-esophageal junction
* Patient with distant metastases laparoscopically proven operative incurability of an locally advanced gastric cancer or patient with a tumor recurrence after gastrectomy
* Patient with progressive disease under a palliative first-line chemotherapy or progressive disease within 6 months after termination of a first-line chemotherapy, defined as objective progression by imaging techniques according to WHO criteria
* Age 18 and 75 years
* Sufficient liver function, defined as serum-bilirubin \<1,5 mg/dl (1,5 upper normal limit), ALT und AST \< 3x upper normal limit
* Sufficient renal function, defined as serum creatinine \< 1,25 x upper normal limit or creatinine clearance \>60ml/min calculated according to Crockroft-Gault
* Contraction for patient with reproductive potential
* Karnofsky-Index \>60%
* Measurable or evaluable tumor manifestation

Exclusion Criteria:

* Tumor progression later than 6 months after termination of first-line chemotherapy
* KI 50% or less
* Patient who have already received a second line chemotherapy for the metastatic setting (adjuvant chemotherapy and one line of palliative chemotherapy os allowed, biologic prior therapies are allowed)
* Prior or current second malignancy despite of basal carcinoma of the skin and curatively treated carcinoma in situ of the cervix
* Uncontrolled infection
* CNS metastases
* Other severe medical illness
* Prior major surgery less than 2 weeks ago
* Parallel treatment with another experimental therapy
* Parallel treatment with another therapy aiming at tumor reduction
* Chronic diarrhea, subileus
* Chronic inflammatory bowel disease or intestinal obstruction
* Pretreatment with irinotecan