Recommendation grade	Criteria
Grade I	Evidence level 1A and some Evidence level 2A: Grade I recommendations include Evidence level 1A and some Evidence level 2A which obtained high consensus from the expert panel and has suitable applicability for Chinese gastric cancer patients Specifically, in the CSCO Guidelines, Grade I recommendations include the following: universally accepted measures with clear indications for diagnosis and treatment, has adequate applicability for Chinese gastric cancer patients, and is included in the National Reimbursement Drug List (NRDL). The priority for allocating Grade I recommendations is solely for the benefits of the patients and is independent to changes regarding commercial medical insurance
Grade II	Evidence level 1B and some Evidence level 2A: Grade II recommendations include Evidence level 1B and some Evidence level 2A which obtained satisfactory consensus with minimum disagreements from the expert panel and has limited applicability for Chinese gastric cancer patients Specifically, Grade II recommendations include the following: high-level evidence provided by multi-center studies that have been randomly controlled internationally or domestically (in China), but may have limited applicability for Chinese patients or low potency ratio, in addition to drugs or treatments that may exceed the purchasing power of the general public of gastric cancer patients; treatments that are expensive but may have substantial benefits for the patients are also regarded as Grade II recommendations
Grade III	Evidence level 2B and 3: Despite the lack of strong evidence-based data, however, these are recommendations that have obtained satisfactory consensus with minimum disagreements from the expert panel and are provided as a reference for medical personnel usage
Not recommended/objection	Recommendations for which the expert panel has uniform consensus that there is adequate evidence to prove that the drugs or medical technologies do not have sufficient benefits or may even cause harm to Chinese patients. These are labeled as “experts do not recommend” or, when applicable as “experts’ disapproval”. It can be allocated to any grade recommendations