Chemoradiotherapy versus chemotherapy as adjuvant treatment for localized gastric cancer: a propensity score-matched analysis.

BACKGROUND: Treatment of localized gastric cancer (LGC) consists of surgical resection followed by adjuvant treatment. Both chemoradiation (CRT) and chemotherapy (CT) regimens have shown benefit in survival outcomes versus observation. However, there are few data comparing these approaches. METHODS: This study included consecutive patients with LGC treated at Instituto do Cancer do Estado de Sao Paulo (ICESP) from 2012 to 2015. CRT was based on the INT-0116 regimen and CT consisted of a platinum and fluoropyrimidine doublet. Treatment choice was based on physician preference. Toxicity was evaluated for every cycle. Overall survival (OS) analysis was performed by Kaplan-Meier. A propensity score-matched analysis was performed to minimize selection bias. RESULTS: A total of 309 patients were evaluated, 227 in CRT group and 82 in CT group. The most prevalent grade 3/4 toxicities in CRT and CT groups were: nausea/vomiting (9.25 vs 4.9%), fatigue (9.3% vs 2.4%), mucositis (4.4% vs 1.2%), neutropenia (37.8% vs 20.9%), febrile neutropenia (3.9% vs 0%), anemia (4.3% vs 6.1%), thrombocytopenia (2.6% vs 4.9%), neuropathy (0 vs 2.4%) and hand-foot syndrome (0.4% vs 2.4%). Two grade 5 toxicities (febrile neutropenia and anemia) occurred in CRT group. There was no difference in the pattern of recurrence. After a median follow-up of 23.5 months (CRT) and 20.6 months (CT), there was no difference in OS between groups. CONCLUSIONS: CT and CRT present similar efficacy and tolerability as adjuvant treatment for LGC.

Value of Primary Rectal Tumor PET/MRI in the Prediction of Synchronic Metastatic Disease.

PURPOSE: To analyze the associations between positron emission tomography (PET)/magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features for primary rectal tumors and metastases. PROCEDURES: Between November 2016 and April 2018, 101 patients with rectal adenocarcinoma were included in this prospective study (NCT02537340) for whole-body PET/MRI for baseline staging. Two readers analyzed the PET/MRI; they assessed the semiquantitative PET features of the primary tumor and the N- and M-stages. Another reader analyzed the MRI features for locoregional staging. The reference standard for confirming metastatic disease was biopsy or imaging follow-up. Non-parametric tests were used to compare the PET/MRI features of the participants with or without metastatic disease. Binary logistic regression was used to evaluate the associations between the primary tumor PET/MRI features and metastatic disease. RESULTS: A total of 101 consecutive participants (median age 62 years; range: 33-87 years) were included. Metastases were detected in 35.6% (36 of 101) of the participants. Among the PET/MRI features, higher tumor lesion glycolysis (352.95 vs 242.70; P = .46) and metabolic tumor volume (36.15 vs 26.20; P = .03) were more frequent in patients with than in those without metastases. Additionally, patients with metastases had a higher incidence of PET-positive (64% vs 32%; P = .009) and MRI-positive (56% vs 32%; P = .03) mesorectal lymph nodes, extramural vascular invasion (86% vs 49%; P > .001), and involvement of mesorectal fascia (64% vs 42%; P = .04); there were also differences between the mrT stages of these two groups (P = .008). No differences in the maximum standardized uptake values for the primary tumors in patients with and without metastases were observed (18.9 vs 19.1; P = .56). Multivariable logistic regression showed that extramural vascular invasion on MRI was the only significant predictor (adjusted odds ratio, 3.8 [95% CI: 1.1, 13.9]; P = .001). CONCLUSION: PET/MRI facilitated the identification of participants with a high risk of metastatic disease, though these findings were based mainly on MRI features.

Brazilian Group of Gastrointestinal Tumours' consensus guidelines for the management of oesophageal cancer.

Oesophageal cancer is among the ten most common types of cancer worldwide. More than 80% of the cases and deaths related to the disease occur in developing countries. Local socio-economic, epidemiologic and healthcare particularities led us to create a Brazilian guideline for the management of oesophageal and oesophagogastric junction (OGJ) carcinomas. The Brazilian Group of Gastrointestinal Tumours invited 50 physicians with different backgrounds, including radiology, pathology, endoscopy, nuclear medicine, genetics, oncological surgery, radiotherapy and clinical oncology, to collaborate. This document was prepared based on an extensive review of topics related to heredity, diagnosis, staging, pathology, endoscopy, surgery, radiation, systemic therapy (including checkpoint inhibitors) and follow-up, which was followed by presentation, discussion and voting by the panel members. It provides updated evidence-based recommendations to guide clinical management of oesophageal and OGJ carcinomas in several scenarios and clinical settings.

SARS-CoV-2 testing for asymptomatic adult cancer patients before initiating systemic treatments: a systematic review.

INTRODUCTION: Cancer patients may have a higher risk of severe events and unfavourable outcomes in the setting of COVID-19. This review addresses the question of whether to test asymptomatic cancer patients before initiating systemic cancer treatments. METHODS: This systematic review was conducted based on the PRISMA framework. Pubmed, Embase, Web of Science and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were systematically searched, as well as guidelines from international institutions involved in cancer care and COVID-19 research. Studies published in English, from 1 December 2019 to 27 May 2020 were considered eligible. We included studies which mentioned testing strategies for SARS-CoV-2 of asymptomatic cancer patients before starting immunosuppressive treatments. RESULTS: We identified 1,163 studies and 4 guidelines through the literature search. A total of 18 articles were considered eligible and were included in the final analysis. Two articles were cohort studies, and the remaining were expert consensuses and published guidelines. The most common recommendation among the studies in this systematic review was to test asymptomatic patients for SARS-CoV-2 prior to treatment. CONCLUSION: There is a lack of studies which directly address COVID-19 testing of asymptomatic patients before treatment. Our systematic review showed that most of the published data favours routine test for SARS-CoV-2 before initiating systemic treatment but failed to identify a good level of evidence to support these recommendations. Based upon this review, we proposed local recommendations at our centre. Each institution should consider the pros and cons of testing asymptomatic patients, evaluating accessibility to testing resources and local epidemiology.

Brazilian Group of Gastrointestinal Tumours' consensus guidelines for the management of gastric cancer.

Gastric cancer is among the ten most common types of cancer worldwide. Most cases and deaths related to the disease occur in developing countries. Local socio-economic, epidemiologic and healthcare particularities led us to create a Brazilian guideline for the management of gastric carcinomas. The Brazilian Group of Gastrointestinal Tumors (GTG) invited 50 physicians with different backgrounds, including radiology, pathology, endoscopy, nuclear medicine, genetics, oncological surgery, radiotherapy and clinical oncology, to collaborate. This document was prepared based on an extensive review of topics related to heredity, diagnosis, staging, pathology, endoscopy, surgery, radiation, systemic therapy and follow-up, which was followed by presentation, discussion, and voting by the panel members. It provides updated evidence-based recommendations to guide clinical management of gastric carcinomas in several scenarios and clinical settings.

Conversion Chemotherapy With a Modified FLOX Regimen for Borderline or Unresectable Liver Metastases From Colorectal Cancer: An Alternative for Limited-Resources Settings.

PURPOSE: Conversion chemotherapy is often used for borderline or unresectable (B/U) liver metastases from colorectal cancer (CRC) with the aim of achieving resectability. Although intensive and costly regimens are often used, the best regimen in this scenario remains unclear. We aimed to evaluate the outcomes of patients with B/U liver metastases from CRC treated with conversion chemotherapy with the modified fluorouracil, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin (mFLOX) regimen followed by metastasectomy. METHODS: We performed a single-center retrospective analysis of patients with B/U liver metastases from CRC treated with chemotherapy with the mFLOX regimen followed by surgery. B/U disease was defined as at least one of the following: more than four lesions, involvement of hepatic artery or portal vein, or involvement of biliary structure. RESULTS: Fifty-four consecutive patients who met our criteria for B/U liver metastases were evaluated. Thirty-five patients (64%) had more than four liver lesions, 16 (29%) had key vascular structure involvement, and 16 (29%) had biliary involvement. After chemotherapy, all patients had surgery and 42 (77%) had R0 resection. After a median follow-up of 37.2 months, median progression-free survival (PFS) was 16.9 months and median overall survival (OS) was 68.3 months. R1-R2 resections were associated with worse PFS and OS compared with R0 resection (PFS: hazard ratio, 2.65; P = .007; OS: hazard ratio, 2.90; P = .014). CONCLUSION: Treatment of B/U liver metastases from CRC with conversion chemotherapy using mFLOX regimen followed by surgical resection was associated with a high R0 resection rate and favorable survival outcomes. On the basis of our results, we consider mFLOX a low-cost option for conversion chemotherapy among other options that have been proposed.

Phase 2 Trial of Metformin Combined With 5-Fluorouracil in Patients With Refractory Metastatic Colorectal Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Observational and preclinical studies have suggested that metformin has antitumor effects in solid tumors, including colorectal cancer (CRC). However, the effects of metformin in CRC have not been tested in clinical trials. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a single-center, single-arm phase 2 clinical trial where histologically confirmed CRC patients with measurable and progressing metastatic disease previously treated with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), irinotecan, oxaliplatin, and an anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (if the tumor was RAS wild type) were enrolled to receive metformin 850 mg orally continuously 2 times a day plus 5-FU 425 mg/m2 and leucovorin 50 mg intravenously weekly until disease progression, unacceptable toxicity, or withdrawal of consent. The primary end point was disease control rate at 8 weeks. RESULTS: Among 50 patients included, 11 (22%) met the primary end point. The median progression-free survival was 1.8 months and the median overall survival 7.9 months. Analyzing only the 11 patients who experienced disease control at 8 weeks, their median progression-free survival was 5.6 months and their median overall survival was 16.2 months. There was a trend for prolonged median survival for obese patients (12.4 vs. 5.8 months) and those longer off 5-FU. The treatment was well tolerated; the main adverse effects were diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and myelotoxicity. CONCLUSION: Metformin and 5-FU showed an overall modest but intriguing activity in patients with refractory CRC in this phase 2 study. Some patients experienced long-term disease control. Further trials are needed to confirm these results, particularly in obese patients with CRC.