Kagawa Y, Watanabe J, Uemura M, Ando K, Inoue A, Oba K, Takemasa I, Oki E. Short-term outcomes of a prospective multicenter phase II trial of total neoadjuvant therapy for locally advanced rectal cancer in Japan (ENSEMBLE-1).
Ann Gastroenterol Surg 2023;
7:968-976. [PMID:
37927927 PMCID:
PMC10623965 DOI:
10.1002/ags3.12715]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2023] [Revised: 06/16/2023] [Accepted: 06/28/2023] [Indexed: 11/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Aim
To evaluate the feasibility and safety of total neoadjuvant therapy (TNT) in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) in Japan.
Methods
This prospective, multicenter, open-label, single-arm phase II trial was conducted at five institutions. The key eligibility criteria were age ≥ 20 years, LARC within 12 cm from the anal verge, and cT3-4N0M0 or TanyN+M0 at the time of diagnosis that enabled curative resection. Preoperative short-course radiation therapy (SCRT) 5 Gy × 5 days (total 25 Gy) + CAPOX (six courses) followed by total mesorectum excision (TME) was the treatment protocol. Non-operative management (NOM) was allowed if clinical complete response (cCR) was obtained in the preoperative evaluation. The primary endpoint was the pathological complete response (pCR) rate.
Results
Thirty patients (male, n = 26; female, n = 4; median age, 62.5 [44-74] years; cT [T2, n = 1; T3, n = 25; T4, n = 4]; cN [N0, n = 13; N1, n = 13; N2, n = 4]) were enrolled. The final analysis included 30 patients in total. The completion rates were 100% for SCRT and 83% for CAPOX. TME and NOM were performed in 20 and seven patients, respectively. pCR was observed in six patients (30% [95% CI 14.0%-50.8%]). The primary endpoint was met. pCR+cCR was observed in 13 (43.3%) patients. There were no treatment-related deaths. Grade ≥3 (CTCAE ver. 5.0) adverse events (≥20%), including diarrhea (23.3%) and neutropenia (23.3%). The median follow-up period was 15.6 (10.5-22.8) months, with no recurrence or regrowth in NOM.
Conclusions
ENSEMBLE-1 demonstrated satisfactory pCR and cCR, and well-tolerated safety of TNT for patients with LARC in Japan.
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