Adjuvant Chemotherapy with Docetaxel, Cisplatin, and Continuous-Infusion 5-Fluorouracil for Gastric Cancer: A Phase II Study

Adjuvant Concurrent Chemoradiotherapy (CRT) plus Docetaxel-Cisplatin-Fluorouracil (DCF) versus CRT plus Fluorouracil-Folinic Acid (FUFA) in Stage III Gastric Cancer

INTRODUCTION

Adjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) is the optimal management strategy in resectable gastric cancer. There is a debate about the efficacy of more aggressive CRT plus chemotherapy regimens in adjuvant setting. This study aimed to compare the efficacy of adjuvant CRT plus docetaxel-cisplatin-fluorouracil (DCF) versus CRT plus fluorouracil-folinic acid (FUFA) in stage III gastric cancer.

METHODS

Patients with a diagnosis of stage III gastric cancer treated with adjuvant therapy after curative resection were analyzed. Patients' disease characteristics and impacts of the regimens on median disease-free survival (DFS) and median overall survival (OS) were analyzed retrospectively.

RESULTS

One hundred sixty-one patients (102 in FUFA arm and 59 in DCF arm) with a median age of 56.0 (29-79) were evaluated. In the DCF arm, there were more renal toxicities (31.6% vs 6.4% P < 0.001), emergency department admissions (64.9% vs 23.7%, P < 0.001), and dose reductions/treatment modifications in the DCF arm (51.6% vs 37.2, P < 0.001). The median follow-up was 23 months (1-124) in the FUFA arm and 26.0 months (1-77) in the DCF arm. The median DFS was 25.0 months (%95 CI, 12.7-37.2) in the DCF arm and 17.0 months (%95 CI, 2.6-31.3) in the FUFA arm, P = 0.66. The median OS was 28.0 months (%95 CI, 17.0-38.9) in the DCF arm and 25.0 months (%95 CI, 11.9-36.0) in the FUFA arm, P = 0.70.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, when compared with FUFA regimen, more aggressive therapy with DCF was more toxic and did not improve OS in adjuvant setting of stage III gastric cancer.

Graded histologic response after neoadjuvant chemotherapy is an optimal criterion for treatment change in patients with locally advanced gastric cancer

Background

The necessity for changing the postoperative therapy regimen for locally advanced gastric cancer after ineffective neoadjuvant chemotherapy and surgery is unclear because there are no criteria to determine which patients can benefit from this treatment. We assessed whether graded histologic regression of <50% could be the criterion for regimen modification.

Methods

The study was designed as a matched-pair case-control investigation to minimize intergroup heterogeneity. Patients were stratified into two groups in which they either continued in the same course of treatment or changed the regimen to neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

Results

Thirty-six patients were stratified into two groups. The adjuvant chemotherapy regimen of 12 patients was changed, while 24 patients continued on the same regimen. During an average follow-up period of 36 months, there was no difference observed in overall survival in the two groups (median, 24.0 vs. 31.0 months, P=0.863). In a subgroup analysis, however, patients in the changed regimen group with ypTNM stage III disease tended to have superior overall survival, though this effect was not significant (median, 23.0 vs. 14.0 months, P=0.123). Post-therapy nodal status was associated with overall survival in the multivariate analysis (P=0.014, HR 12.503, 95% CI: 1.664-93.919). Most adverse events were categorized as grade 1 or 2, and all treatments were well tolerated.

Conclusions

Changing treatment based on a graded histologic regression of <50% after neoadjuvant chemotherapy did not prolong overall survival in patients with gastric cancer. However, changing the adjuvant regimen did reveal a trend towards improved overall survival in the ypTNM stage III subgroup, which merits further investigation using a larger sample size.

A Bayesian Network Meta-Analysis for Identifying the Optimal Taxane-Based Chemotherapy Regimens for Treating Gastric Cancer

Background: Several taxane-based chemotherapy regimens are effective in the treatment of gastric cancer; nevertheless, their comparative efficacy and safety remain disputed. This network meta-analysis (NMA) was designed to compare the efficacy and safety of different taxane-based chemotherapy regimens against gastric cancer.

Methods: A comprehensive search was conducted to identify all relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in multiple electronic databases. A Bayesian NMA was performed to combine the direct and indirect evidence and estimate the comparative efficacy and safety of different taxane-based chemotherapy regimens simultaneously by utilizing WinBUGS 1.4.3 and Stata 13.1 software. The efficacy outcomes included overall survival rate (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall response rate (ORR), and the safety outcomes were adverse reactions (ADRs), namely, neutropenia, leucopenia, vomiting, and fatigue.

Results: A total of 37 RCTs were identified involving 7,178 patients with gastric cancer, and 10 taxane-based chemotherapy regimens (RT, T, TC, TCF, TF, TO, TOF, mTCF, mTF, and mTOF) were collected in gastric cancer therapy. According to the results of cluster analysis, compared with other taxane-based chemotherapy regimens, the regimens of TOF, mTCF, and TF were associated with the most favorable clinical efficacy in improving OS, PFS, and ORR. On the other hand, the regimens of T and mTF had the potential to be the most tolerable and acceptable therapeutic alternative in terms of ADRs.

Conclusions: The current NMA provides the evidence that the combination of taxanes (paclitaxel or docetaxel) and fluorouracil is associated with the most preferable and beneficial option for patients with gastric cancer, although additional results from multicenter trials and high-quality studies will be pivotal for supporting our findings.

A Modified Epirubicin and Oxaliplatin Plus Capecitabine (EOX) Regimen as a Second- Line Therapy in Patients with Advanced Gastric Cancer

Objective: We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of an mEOX (modified epirubicin, oxaliplatin plus capecitabine) regimen as second line therapy after failure of mDCF (modified docetaxel, cisplatin plus fluorouracil). Methods: Gastic cancer patients for whom first-line therapy was unsuccessful and who subsequently received mEOX (epirubicin 50 mg/ m2 on day 1, oxaliplatin 85 mg/m² day 1 and capecitabine twice-daily dose of 625 mg/ m2, p.o. for 2 weeks) every 3 weeks until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity, were retrospectively analyzed. Results: The study population comprised 129 cases with a median age of 55 years (range= 27-78), the majority being male (76 %). Most (75.2%) had ≥ 2 sites of metastasis. The median number of chemotherapy courses was five (range= 2–9). Forty-nine achieved a partial response and 33 showed stable disease, resulting in a ORR (overall response rate) of 38% and a DCR (disease control rate) of 63.6%. The most frequent features of grade 3-4 hematological and non-hematological toxicity were neutropenia (8.5%) and nausea/vomiting (5.4%). None of the patients suffered death due to toxicity. The median PFS was 4.7 months (95% CI, 4.1–5.3) and the OS was 7.4 months (95% CI, 6.3–8.5). On multivariate analysis, age ≥ 60 years and ECOG performance status (0-1) were independent prognostic factors affecting PFS and OS. Conslusions: In advanced gastric cancer patients, who progress after first line chemotherapy and have an ECOG performance status of 0-1, mEOX is a well tolerated triple regimen associated with a promising OS and PFS.

Reversal of 5-fluorouracil resistance by EGCG is mediate by inactivation of TFAP2A/VEGF signaling pathway and down-regulation of MDR-1 and P-gp expression in gastric cancer

The effect of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) chemotherapy for gastric cancer (GC) is limited by drug-resistance. To conquer this drug-resistance, various treatments including combination therapy have been used, but the overall survival has not been improved yet. In our current study, 5-FU resistant GC cells, SGC7901/FU and MGC803/FU, were established by long term exposure to 5-FU, and the proliferation capability of these resistant cells was verified to be reduced. The drug related proteins, MDR1 and P-gp were up-regulated in resistant cells compared to the parental cells. We further found proliferation and tumor growth suppressed effects of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), which is the predominant polyphenolic catechin constituent in green tea, on both the 5-FU resistant cells and the SGC7901/FU xenograft. Furthermore, an interesting results showed that reversal of 5-FU resistance of GC cells by EGCG treatment in vivo and in vitro. In the molecular study, We also found that EGCG suppressed the expression of both MDR-1 and P-gp at mRNA and protein levels in vivo and in vitro. Western blot and ELISA assay revealed that EGCG was able to inhibit VEGF secretion and expression, and its up-stream signal regulator, transcription factor activator protein 2A (TFAP2A) was also down-regulated by EGCG, our results indicated that TFAP2A/VEGF axis is one of the critical pathway inhibited by EGCG for cell proliferation and 5-FU resistance. Taken together, our data suggested that EGCG inhibits GC growth and reverses 5-FU resistance of GC through inactivation of TFAP2A/VEGF pathway and down-regulation of MDR-1 and P-gp expression.

Comparison the efficacy of second-line modified EOX (epirubicin, oxaliplatin, and capecitabine) and irinotecan, 5-fluorouracil, and leucovorin (FOLFIRI) regimens in metastatic gastric cancer patients that progressed on first-line modified docetaxel and cisplatin plus fluorouracil (DCF) regimen

Gastric cancer is often diagnosed in advanced stage. Palliative chemotherapy or best supportive care is recommended for patients with metastatic gastric patients. In several clinical trials, palliative chemotherapy improved overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS), but the survival benefit of second-line chemotherapy was demonstrated in small cohort studies. The main aim of our study was to compare retrospectively the efficacy of second-line modified EOX (epirubicin, oxaliplatin and capecitabine) [mEOX] and irinotecan, 5-fluorouracil, and leucovorin (FOLFIRI) regimens in metastatic gastric cancer patients that progressed on first-line modified docetaxel-cisplatin-fluorouracil (DCF) regimen. Metastatic gastric cancer patients who progressed on modified DCF regimens were included. A total 105 patients were included to this study; 55 and 50 patients were treated with mEOX and FOLFIRI regimens, respectively. The clinicopathological and demographic characteristics of all patients were collected from the medical charts. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was carried out for PFS and OS. The median follow-up of our study was 16 (4-85) months. In both groups, all of the patients were treated with first-line mDCF. Median cycle of second-line chemotherapy was 3 (1-8) and 3.5 (1-6) in EOX and FOLFIRI groups, respectively (P = 0.44). Overall response rate was observed in 34.6 % and 42.0 % of patients second-line chemotherapy in mEOX and FOLFIRI arms, respectively (P = 0.17). Median PFS was 5.5 and 6.3 months in mEOX and FOLFIRI arms, respectively (P = 0.98). Median OS was 6.9 and 7.0 months in mEOX and FOLFIRI arms, respectively, from the time of beginning second-line chemotherapy protocol (P = 0.89). As compared with FOLFIRI regimen, mEOX regimen was associated with less neutropenia, thrombocytopenia and anemia. Dose reduction and dose delay were significantly higher in FOLFIRI group compared to mEOX group (P < 0.001). In our trial, triplet regimens mEOX and FOLFIRI regimens have similar efficacy as second-line treatment for patients with metastatic gastric cancer. FOLFIRI regimen was associated with more hematological toxicity.