Adjuvant capecitabine plus oxaliplatin after D2 gastrectomy in Japanese patients with gastric cancer: a phase II study.

BACKGROUND: Adjuvant chemotherapy with XELOX (capecitabine plus oxaliplatin) has been shown to be beneficial following resection of gastric cancer in South Korean, Chinese, and Taiwanese patients. This phase II study (J-CLASSIC-PII) was undertaken to evaluate the feasibility of XELOX in Japanese patients with resected gastric cancer. METHODS: Patients with stage II or III gastric cancer who underwent curative D2 gastrectomy received adjuvant XELOX (eight 3-week cycles of oral capecitabine, 1000 mg/m2 twice daily on days 1-14, plus intravenous oxaliplatin 130 mg/m2 on day 1). The primary endpoint was dose intensity. Secondary endpoints were safety, proportion of patients completing treatment, and 1-year disease-free survival (DFS) rate. RESULTS: One hundred patients were enrolled, 76 of whom completed the study as planned. The mean dose intensity was 67.2 % (95 % CI, 61.9-72.5 %) for capecitabine and 73.4 % (95 % CI, 68.4-78.4 %) for oxaliplatin, which were higher than the predefined age-adjusted threshold values of 63.4 % and 69.4 %, respectively, and the study therefore met its primary endpoint. The 1-year DFS rate was 86 % (95 % CI, 77-91 %). No new safety signals were identified. CONCLUSIONS: The feasibility of adjuvant XELOX in Japanese patients with resected gastric cancer is similar to that observed in South Korean, Chinese, and Taiwanese patients in the Capecitabine and Oxaliplatin Adjuvant Study in Stomach Cancer (CLASSIC) study. Based on findings from this study and the CLASSIC study, the XELOX regimen can be considered an adjuvant treatment option for Japanese gastric cancer patients who have undergone curative resection.

Double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized phase II study of TJ-14 (hangeshashinto) for gastric cancer chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis.

BACKGROUND: Hangeshashinto (TJ-14, a Kampo medicine), which reduces the level of prostaglandin E2 and affects the cyclooxygenase activity, alleviates chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis (COM). We conducted a randomized comparative trial to investigate whether TJ-14 prevents and controls COM in patients with gastric cancer. METHODS: We randomly assigned patients with gastric cancer who developed moderate-to-severe oral mucositis (CTCAE v4.0 grade ≧1) during any cycle of chemotherapy to receive either TJ-14 or a placebo as a double-blind trial. The patients received a placebo or TJ-14 for 2-6 weeks according to the chemotherapy regimen from the beginning of the next course of chemotherapy. The primary end point was the incidence of grade ≧2 oral mucositis in the protocol treatment course, and the secondary end points were the time to disappearance of oral mucositis and the incidence of adverse events. RESULTS: Following the key opening of the blinding protocol, we analyzed 91 eligible patients (TJ-14: 45, placebo: 46) using a "per protocol set" analysis. The incidence of ≧grade 2 COM was 40.0 % in the TJ-14 group and 41.3 % in the placebo group (p = 0.588). The median duration of ≧grade 2 COM was 14 days in the TJ-14 group and 16 days in the placebo group (p = 0.894). Meanwhile, the median duration of any grade of COM was 9 days in the TJ-14 group and 17 days in the placebo group among the patients who developed grade 1 symptoms during the screening cycle [hazard ratio 0.60; 95 % CI (0.23-1.59), p = 0.290]. CONCLUSIONS: Although TJ-14 treatment did not reduce the incidence of ≥2 COM in the patients who developed mucositis during chemotherapy for gastric cancer, a trend was observed in which TJ-14 reduced the risk of COM in the patients who developed grade 1 COM during the screening cycle. Further, phase III studies with a larger sample size are needed to clarify the protective effects of TJ-14 for COM.

A Phase III trial to evaluate the effect of perioperative nutrition enriched with eicosapentaenoic acid on body weight loss after total gastrectomy for T2-T4a gastric cancer.

This randomized Phase III trial will evaluate whether perioperative nutrition enriched with eicosapentaenoic acid can prevent body weight loss after total gastrectomy for gastric cancer. The patients who enroll in this study will be randomly assigned to Group A: no supplementation with oral nutrients (standard diet) or Group B: standard diet with eicosapentaenoic acid-enriched supplementation for 7 days before surgery and for 21 days after surgery. For both groups, patients will undergo total gastrectomy with Roux-en Y reconstruction. The extent of dissection will principally follow the third edition of the Gastric Cancer Treatment Guideline published by the Japanese Gastric Cancer Association. When patients are diagnosed with pathological Stage II or III disease, adjuvant chemotherapy with S-1 will be initiated within 6 weeks after surgery and administered for 1 year. The primary endpoint will be the body weight loss at 1 and 3 months after surgery (double primary endpoints). The secondary endpoints will be the relative performance of the supplement, loss of lean body mass at 1 and 3 months after surgery, the lowest serum albumin level, quality of life, the incidence of surgical morbidity and mortality, and the incidence of surgical site infection.

[Adjuvant therapy for advanced gastric cancer].

The importance of surgery (gastrectomy plus lymph node dissection) for the treatment of advanced gastric cancer is unquestionable, although there has been a disparity in methods used to achieve local control in Asia and the West. The superiority of D2 dissection has not been confirmed in a large multiinstitutional trial, and the long-term follow-up results of a Dutch trial revealed that the recurrence rate was lower in the D2 group. Thus, the European Society for Medical Oncology and the US National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines recommend D2 dissection, leading to a worldwide consensus. Meanwhile, the focus of oncology should be on multimodality treatment for cure, and numerous large, randomized clinical trials have established effective adjuvant treatment. In gastric cancer, different evidence emerged first in the USA, followed by Europe, and Japan/the Republic of Korea to become the standard for each: adjuvant chemoradiation, perioperative adjuvant chemotherapy, and postoperative chemotherapy, respectively. The Japanese standard has become adjuvant S-1 chemotherapy for 1 year after surgery, and the optimal regimen for stage III should be further investigated in consideration of other robust results. Other issues include the role of surgery in local control with regard to adjuvant treatment such as radiation and molecular-targeted treatment to establish a worldwide standard.

Intrinsic subtypes of gastric cancer, based on gene expression pattern, predict survival and respond differently to chemotherapy.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Gastric cancer (GC) is a heterogeneous disease comprising multiple subtypes that have distinct biological properties and effects in patients. We sought to identify new, intrinsic subtypes of GC by gene expression analysis of a large panel of GC cell lines. We tested if these subtypes might be associated with differences in patient survival times and responses to various standard-of-care cytotoxic drugs. METHODS: We analyzed gene expression profiles for 37 GC cell lines to identify intrinsic GC subtypes. These subtypes were validated in primary tumors from 521 patients in 4 independent cohorts, where the subtypes were determined by either expression profiling or subtype-specific immunohistochemical markers (LGALS4, CDH17). In vitro sensitivity to 3 chemotherapy drugs (5-fluorouracil, cisplatin, oxaliplatin) was also assessed. RESULTS: Unsupervised cell line analysis identified 2 major intrinsic genomic subtypes (G-INT and G-DIF) that had distinct patterns of gene expression. The intrinsic subtypes, but not subtypes based on Lauren's histopathologic classification, were prognostic of survival, based on univariate and multivariate analysis in multiple patient cohorts. The G-INT cell lines were significantly more sensitive to 5-fluorouracil and oxaliplatin, but more resistant to cisplatin, than the G-DIF cell lines. In patients, intrinsic subtypes were associated with survival time following adjuvant, 5-fluorouracil-based therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Intrinsic subtypes of GC, based on distinct patterns of expression, are associated with patient survival and response to chemotherapy. Classification of GC based on intrinsic subtypes might be used to determine prognosis and customize therapy.

A comparison of multimodality treatment: two or four courses of paclitaxel plus cisplatin or S-1 plus cisplatin followed by surgery for locally advanced gastric cancer, a randomized Phase II trial (COMPASS).

This randomized Phase II trial compares neoadjuvant chemotherapy of two or four courses of S-1 (1 M tegafur-0.4 M gimestat-1 M ostat potassium) plus cisplatin or paclitaxel plus cisplatin by a two-by-two factorial design for patients with macroscopically resectable locally advanced gastric cancer. The primary endpoint is the 3-year overall survival. The sample size is 60-80 in a total for two hypotheses of the superiority of four courses to two courses and the superiority of paclitaxel plus cisplatin to S-1 plus cisplatin. In both arms, S-1 is strongly recommended post-operatively for at least 6 months but no adjuvant chemotherapy is permitted other than S-1 until recurrence. This trial could appraise more suitable cycles and regimen as neoadjuvant chemotherapy for gastric cancer.

A combination immunochemotherapy of 5-fluorouracil, cisplatin, leucovorin, and OK-432 for advanced and recurrent gastric carcinoma.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Based on theories of biochemical modulation and immunotherapy, a novel regimen consisting of 5-fluorouracil, cisplatin, leucovorin, and OK-432 (FLPO therapy) was devised for the treatment of patients with advanced and recurrent gastric carcinoma. METHODOLOGY: The 14-day combination therapy consisted of continuous infusion of 5-fluorouracil (250 mg/m2/day), a bolus injection of 10 mg cisplatin and 30 mg leucovorin every other day, and a subcutaneous injection or per oral administration of OK-432 (3KE or 5KE) every other day. Thirty patients completed 59 courses of treatment consisting of 2 weeks of therapy followed by at least 2 weeks rest. RESULTS: The overall response rate was 40%, with 1 complete response and 11 partial responses observed. All twelve patients responded after 1 course of treatment. The response rate differed depending upon tumor location, 22.2% at the primary site, 60.0% in the lymph nodes, 45.5% with peritoneal dissemination, 44.4% with liver metastases, 50.0% in the lung, and 100.0% with skin metastases. The most frequently observed toxicity was stomatitis (53.3%). The overall incidence of toxicities of grade 3 or greater was 6.6%, including diarrhea (3.3%) and stomatitis (3.3%). One patient required treatment interruption because of the grade 3 toxicity of diarrhea. The median survival time was 198 days overall, 242 days for responders and 125 days for non-responders. CONCLUSIONS: FLPO therapy seemed to be an effective regimen for the treatment of advanced and recurrent gastric carcinoma.

[A case of metastatic gastric cancer responding to weekly administration of paclitaxel as a second-line therapy].

We report a 65-year-old man who underwent distal gastrectomy for advanced and metastatic gastric cancer in June 2000. TS-1 was administered for remnant metastatic lesions as first-line chemotherapy, but a recurrence was found in June 2001. Paclitaxel 80 mg/m2 was then administered weekly in a 1-h infusion on day 1, 8, and 15 as one cycle. After two cycles of paclitaxel administration, the patient was relieved from abdominal pain, and a barium enema revealed marked improvement of the colonic stenosis due to the peritoneal metastasis. There have been few effective chemotherapeutic agents against peritoneal metastasis from gastric cancer to date; however, a weekly paclitaxel regimen is considered to be one of the promising regimens for metastatic and recurrent gastric cancer.

Unusual survival for more than 2 years with peritoneal metastases of gastric cancer.

We report a patient with peritoneal metastases who was successfully treated with a novel oral fluoropyrimidine anticancer drug, TS-1, as first-line chemotherapy. The patient was a 72-year-old man who had undergone curative resection for type 4 gastric cancer with peritoneal dissemination that was located only at the greater omentum. Final findings were P1, T4, N1, and stage IV. Eighteen months after the gastrectomy, his cancer recurred with peritoneal metastases; these were diagnosed by the presence of multiple stenoses of the colon, an abdominal mass, and elevated levels of the serum tumor markers, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and carbohydrate antigen (CA)19-9. He was treated with 100 mg/day of TS-1, given orally, for 28 days, followed by 14 days' rest, as one course. Two courses of the treatment resulted in a marked reduction of the abdominal tumor, without severe toxicity. After 3 courses, barium enema revealed dramatic improvement in the stenoses. Laparoscopy after 11 courses showed neither peritoneal dissemination, nor ascites, and peritoneal lavage cytology was negative. The serum tumor markers were reduced to almost normal levels. Two years after the onset of the peritoneal metastases, the patient is alive without any sign of progressive disease. Our report is the first to demonstrate the advantages of TS-1 as chemotherapy for the treatment of peritoneal metastasis of gastric cancer.