Perioperative treatment in resectable gastric cancer with spartalizumab in combination with fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin and docetaxel (FLOT): a phase II study (GASPAR).

Perioperative chemotherapy and surgery are a standard of care for patients with resectable gastric or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) adenocarcinoma. However, the prognosis remains poor for this population. The FLOT (fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin, and docetaxel) regimen is considered as the new standard chemotherapy regimen for perioperative strategy, despite associated with a 5-year overall survival rate (OS) amounting 45% following radical surgery. Immunotherapy with antibodies that inhibit PD-1/ PD-L1 interaction has recently emerged as a new treatment option with promising and encouraging early trial results for patients with advanced or metastatic gastric or GEJ adenocarcinoma. Currently, no trials have investigated the impact of perioperative immunotherapy in combination with chemotherapy for resectable gastric or GEJ adenocarcinoma. GASPAR trial is a multicenter open-label, nonrandomized, phase II trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Spartalizumab in combination with the FLOT regimen as perioperative treatment for resectable gastric or GEJ adenocarcinoma. The main endpoint is the proportion of patients with pathological complete regression (pCR) in the primary tumour after preoperative treatment. Systemic treatment will include a pre-operative neoadjuvant and a post-operative adjuvant treatment, during which FLOT regimen will be administered every two weeks for 4 cycles and Spartalizumab every four weeks for 2 cycles. For patients with confirmed tumor resectability on imaging assessment, surgery will be realized within 4-6 weeks after the last dose of preoperative chemotherapy. Post-operative systemic treatment will then be initiated within 4-10 weeks after surgery. Using a Simon's two-stage design, up to 67 patients will be enrolled, including 23 in the first stage. Currently, no trials have investigated the impact of immunotherapy in combination with FLOT chemotherapy as perioperative treatment for resectable gastric or GEJ adenocarcinoma. Some studies have suggested a change in the tumor immune micro-environment following neoadjuvant chemotherapy in this setting, reinforcing the relevance to propose a phase II trial evaluating efficacy and safety of Spartalizumab in combination with perioperative chemotherapy, with the aim of improving treatment efficacy and survival outcomes. NCT04736485, registered February, 3, 2021.

Dos Santos M ，Lequesne J ，Leconte A ，Corbinais S ，Parzy A ，Guilloit JM ，Varatharajah S ，Brachet PE ，Dorbeau M ，Vaur D ，Weiswald LB ，Poulain L ，Le Gallic C ，Castera-Tellier M ，Galais MP ，Clarisse B ... -  《BMC CANCER》

Efficacy and safety of neoadjuvant sintilimab in combination with FLOT chemotherapy in patients with HER2-negative locally advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma: an investigator-initiated, single-arm, open-label, phase II study.

The addition of immune checkpoint inhibitors to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in operable advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction (G/GEJ) cancer aroused wide interest. This study was designed to assess the efficacy and safety of neoadjuvant sintilimab, a programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) inhibitor, in combination with fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin, and docetaxel (FLOT) chemotherapy for HER2-negative locally advanced G/GEJ cancer. Eligible patients with clinical stage cT4 and/or cN+M0 G/GEJ cancer were enroled in this phase II study. Patients received neoadjuvant sintilimab (200 mg every 3 weeks) for three cycles plus FLOT (50 mg/m 2 docetaxel, 80 mg/m 2 oxaliplatin, 200 mg/m 2 calcium levofolinate, 2600 mg/m 2 5-fluorouracil every 2 weeks) for four cycles before surgery, followed by four cycles of adjuvant FLOT with same dosages after resection. The primary endpoint was the pathological complete response (pCR) rate. Thirty-two patients were enroled between August 2019 and September 2021, with a median follow-up of 34.8 (95% CI, 32.8-42.9) months. Thirty-two (100%) patients received neoadjuvant therapy, and 29 underwent surgery with an R0 resection rate of 93.1%. The pCR (TRG0) was achieved in 5 (17.2%; 95% CI, 5.8-35.8%) patients, and the major pathological response was 55.2%. Twenty-three (79.3%) patients had T downstaging, 21 (72.4%) had N downstaging, and 19 (65.5%) had overall TNM downstaging. Six (20.7%) patients experienced recurrence. Patients achieving pCR showed better event-free survival (EFS), disease-free survival (DFS), and overall survival (OS) than non-pCR. The estimated 3-year EFS rate, 3-year DFS rate, and 3-year OS rate were 71.4% (95% CI, 57.2-89.2%), 78.8% (95% CI, 65.1-95.5%), and 70.9% (95% CI, 54.8-91.6%), respectively. The objective response rate and disease control rate were 84.4% (95% CI, 68.3-93.1%) and 96.9% (95% CI, 84.3-99.5%), respectively. Twenty-five (86.2%) received adjuvant therapy. The main grade ≥3 treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) were lymphopenia (34.4%), neutropenia (28.1%), and leukopenia (15.6%). no patients died from TRAE. The LDH level exhibited a better predictive value to pathological responses than PD-L1 and MSI status. The study demonstrated an encouraging efficacy and manageable safety profile of neoadjuvant sintilimab plus FLOT in HER2-negative locally advanced G/GEJ cancer, which suggested a potential therapeutic option for this population.

Li N ，Li Z ，Fu Q ，Zhang B ，Zhang J ，Wan XB ，Lu CM ，Wang JB ，Deng WY ，Ma YJ ，Bie LY ，Wang MY ，Li J ，Xia QX ，Wei C ，Luo SX ... -  《-》

Histopathological regression after neoadjuvant docetaxel, oxaliplatin, fluorouracil, and leucovorin versus epirubicin, cisplatin, and fluorouracil or capecitabine in patients with resectable gastric or gastro-oesophageal junction adenocarcinoma (FLOT4-AIO

Docetaxel-based chemotherapy is effective in metastatic gastric and gastro-oesophageal junction adenocarcinoma, but has not yet been evaluated in the context of resectable patients. Here we report findings from the phase 2 part of the phase 2/3 FLOT4 trial, which compared histopathological regression in patients treated with a docetaxel-based triplet chemotherapy versus an anthracycline-based triplet chemotherapy before surgical resection. In this randomised, open-label, phase 2/3 study, eligible participants were recruited from 28 German oncology centres. Patients with resectable gastric or gastro-oesophageal junction cancer who had clinical stage cT2 or higher, nodal positive (cN+) disease, or both were randomly assigned (1:1) to either three preoperative and three postoperative 3-week cycles of intravenous epirubicin 50 mg/m2 on day 1, intravenous cisplatin 60 mg/m2 on day 1, and either fluorouracil 200 mg/m2 as continuous intravenous infusion or capecitabine 1250 mg/m2 orally (two doses of 625 mg/m2 per day) on days 1 to 21 (ECF/ECX group) or four preoperative and four postoperative 2-week cycles of docetaxel 50 mg/m2, intravenous oxaliplatin 85 mg/m2, intravenous leucovorin 200 mg/m2, and fluorouracil 2600 mg/m2 as a 24 h infusion, all on day 1 (FLOT group). Randomisation was done centrally with an interactive web-response system based on a sequence generated with blocks (block size 2) stratified by Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status, location of primary tumour, age, and nodal status. No masking was done. Central assessment of pathological regression was done according to the Becker criteria. The primary endpoint was pathological complete regression (tumour regression grade TRG1a) and was analysed in the modified intention-to-treat population, defined as all patients who were randomly assigned to treatment excluding patients who had surgery but did not provide resection specimens for central evaluation. The study (including the phase 3 part) has completed enrolment, but follow-up is ongoing and this is an interim analysis. The trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01216644. Between Aug 18, 2010, and Aug 10, 2012, 300 patients (152 patients in the ECF/ECX group; 148 patients in the FLOT group) were enrolled into the phase 2 part of the study, 265 of whom (137 in the ECF/ECX group; 128 in the FLOT group) were assessable on a modified intention-to-treat basis. 119 (93%) of 128 patients in the FLOT group and 126 (92%) of 137 patients in the ECF/ECX group were given all planned preoperative cycles of treatment. FLOT was associated with significantly higher proportions of patients achieving pathological complete regression than was ECF/ECX (20 [16%; 95% CI 10-23] of 128 patients vs eight [6%; 3-11] of 137 patients; p=0·02). 44 (40%) of 111 patients in the ECF/ECX group and 30 (25%) of 119 patients in the FLOT group had at least one serious adverse event involving a perioperative medical or surgical complication. The most common non-surgical grade 3-4 adverse events were neutropenia (52 [38%] of 137 patients in the ECF/ECX group vs 67 [52%] of 128 patients in the FLOT group), leucopenia (28 [20%] vs 36 [28%]), nausea (23 [17%] vs 12 [9%]), infection (16 [12%] vs 15 [12%]), fatigue (19 [14%] vs 11 [9%]), and vomiting (13 [10%] vs four [3%]). Perioperative FLOT was active and feasible to administer, and might represent an option for patients with locally advanced, resectable gastric or gastro-eosophageal junction adenocarcinoma. None.

Al-Batran SE ，Hofheinz RD ，Pauligk C ，Kopp HG ，Haag GM ，Luley KB ，Meiler J ，Homann N ，Lorenzen S ，Schmalenberg H ，Probst S ，Koenigsmann M ，Egger M ，Prasnikar N ，Caca K ，Trojan J ，Martens UM ，Block A ，Fischbach W ，Mahlberg R ，Clemens M ，Illerhaus G ，Zirlik K ，Behringer DM ，Schmiegel W ，Pohl M ，Heike M ，Ronellenfitsch U ，Schuler M ，Bechstein WO ，Königsrainer A ，Gaiser T ，Schirmacher P ，Hozaeel W ，Reichart A ，Goetze TO ，Sievert M ，Jäger E ，Mönig S ，Tannapfel A ... -  《-》

RACE-trial: neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy versus chemotherapy for patients with locally advanced, potentially resectable adenocarcinoma of the gastroesophageal junction - a randomized phase III joint study of the AIO, ARO and DGAV.

Lorenzen S ，Biederstädt A ，Ronellenfitsch U ，Reißfelder C ，Mönig S ，Wenz F ，Pauligk C ，Walker M ，Al-Batran SE ，Haller B ，Hofheinz RD ... -  《BMC CANCER》

Preventive HIPEC in combination with perioperative FLOT versus FLOT alone for resectable diffuse type gastric and gastroesophageal junction type II/III adenocarcinoma - the phase III "PREVENT"- (FLOT9) trial of the AIO /CAOGI /ACO.

The main reason for treatment failure after curative surgical resection of gastric cancer is intra-abdominal spread, with 40-50% peritoneal seeding as primary localization of recurrence. Peritoneal relapse is seen in 60-70% of tumors of diffuse type, compared to only 20-30% of intestinal type. Hyperthermic IntraPEritoneal Chemoperfusion (HIPEC) is an increasingly used therapy method for patients with peritoneal metastases. The preventive use of HIPEC could represent an elegant approach for patients (pts) before macroscopic peritoneal seeding, since pts. with operable disease are fit and may have potential risk of microscopic involvement, thus having a theoretical chance of cure with HIPEC even without the need for cytoreduction. No results from a PCRT from the Western hemisphere have yet been published. This is a multicenter, randomized, controlled, open-label study including a total of 200 pts. with localized and locally advanced diffuse or mixed type (Laurens's classification) adenocarcinoma of the stomach and Type II/III GEJ. All enrolled pts. will have received 3-6 pre-operative cycles of biweekly FLOT (Docetaxel 50 mg/m2; Oxaliplatin 85 mg/m2; Leucovorin 200 mg/m2; 5-FU 2600 mg/m2, q2wk). Pts will be randomized 1:1 to receive surgery only and postoperative FLOT (control arm) or surgery + intraoperative HIPEC (cisplatin 75 mg/m2 solution administered at a temperature of 42 °C for 90 min) and postoperative FLOT (experimental arm). Surgery is carried out as gastrectomy or transhiatal extended gastrectomy. Primary endpoint is PFS/DFS, major secondary endpoints are OS, rate of pts. with peritoneal relapse at 2 and 3 years, perioperative morbidity/mortality and quality of life. The trial starts with a safety run-in phase. After 20 pts. had curatively intended resection in Arm B, an interim safety analysis is performed. Recruitment has already started and first patient in was on January 18th, 2021. If the PREVENT concept proves to be effective, this could potentially lead to a new standard of therapy. On the contrary, if the outcome is negative, pts. with gastric cancer and no peritoneal involvement will not be treated with HIPEC during surgery. The study is registered on June 25th, 2020 under ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04447352 ; EudraCT: 2017-003832-35 .

Götze TO ，Piso P ，Lorenzen S ，Bankstahl US ，Pauligk C ，Elshafei M ，Amato G ，Reim D ，Bechstein WO ，Königsrainer A ，Mönig SP ，Rau B ，Schwarzbach M ，Al-Batran SE ... -  《BMC CANCER》