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Objective To investigate the effect of three-dimensional conformal intensity-modulated radiotherapy combined with oxaliplatin plus capecitabine chemotherapy upon the postoperative median survival time of patients diagnosed with advanced gastric cancer. Methods A total of 74 patients with advanced gastric cancer admitted to Linyi Central Hospital from February 2010 to January 2012 were recruited and divided into the postoperative chemotherapy group (n＝37) and postoperative radiotherapy and chemotherapy group (n＝37) according to the treatment plan. All patients in two groups were treated with laparoscopic D2radical operation. In the postoperative chemotherapy group, patients were treated with oxaliplatin combined with capecitabine. In the postoperative radiotherapy and chemotherapy group, patients were treated with oxaliplatin combined with capecitabine plus three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy.In both groups, 4 cycles of chemotherapy were delivered. The incidence of adverse reactions, median progression-free survival, median overall survival, and 1-, 3-and 5-year recurrence rate and mortality rate were statistically compared between two groups. Results In the postoperative radiotherapy and chemotherapy group, the incidence rate of bone marrow suppression ( 41%), abnormal liver function ( 30%), nausea and vomiting (30%) and neutropenia ( 46%) did not significantly differ from 35%, 35%, 24% and 41% in the postoperative chemotherapy group ( all P＞0. 05).In the postoperative radiotherapy and chemotherapy group, the median progression-free survival and median overall survival were significantly longer compared with those in the postoperative chemotherapy group (both P＜0. 05).The 1-, 3-and 5-year recurrence rates were 8%, 14%and 16% in the postoperative radiotherapy and chemotherapy group, significantly lower than 32%, 41% and 46% in the postoperative chemotherapy group ( all P＜0. 05).The mortality rate was 11%( 4/37) in the postoperative radiotherapy and chemotherapy group, which was significantly lower than 30%(11/37) in the postoperative chemotherapy group ( P＜0. 05 ). Conclusions Three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy combined with oxaliplatin plus capecitabine chemotherapy can effectively prolong the median survival, reduce the recurrence rate and does not enhance the risk of adverse events for patients with advanced gastric cancer.
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Objective To compare the efficacy and resistance between S?1 combined with radiotherapy and S?1 alone in the treatment of elderly patients with locally advanced gastric cancer. Methods Fifty?eight elderly patients with unresectable locally advanced ( stage Ⅲ) gastric cancer were randomly and equally divided into S?1 combined with concurrent radiotherapy group ( experimental group ) and S?1 alone group ( control group ) . The experimental group received 4 cycles of S?1 treatment with each cycle containing two?week oral administration of S?1 at a dose of 40 mg/m2 twice a day followed by one?week drug withdrawal. Gastric intensity?modulated radiotherapy was performed concurrently with a dose of 45 Gy ( 1. 8 Gy per fraction) . The control group received the same dose of S?1 alone. Short?term outcomes and adverse reactions were evaluated in the two groups. Comparison was made by chi?square test. Results All patients completed the planning treatment. The experimental group had significantly higher objective response, disease control, and symptom remission rates than the control group ( 52% vs. 24%, P=0. 03;76% vs. 45%, P=0. 016;86% vs. 48%, P=0. 005) . There were no significant differences in the incidence of nausea and vomiting, anorexia, leukopenia, diarrhea, or thrombocytopenia between the two groups ( all P>0. 05) . Conclusions S?1 treatment combined with concurrent radiotherapy improves the short?term outcomes and causes tolerable toxicities in the treatment of elderly patients with locally advanced gastric cancer.
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Objective The aim of this study was to investigate whether the addition of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy ( NACRT ) to surgery can improve outcomes better than neoadjuvant chemotherapy in terms of rate of R0 resection, pathological complete response ( pCR ) and side effects. Methods This exploratory study included primary gastric adenocarcinoma patients staged as clinical T4N0 or anyTN1-3. Intensity modulated radiotherapy was delivered of 40 to 50 Gy in 22 to 25 fractions,5 days/week.Concurrent chemotherapy regimens included S-1 or Capecitabine or a combination of Paclitaxel plus Carboplatin.Results Eleven eligible patients were enrolled. R0 and R2 resections were performed in 9 ( 9/11) and 1 patients, respectively.Peritoneal metastasis was found in 1 case during exploratory laparotomy.The pCR was observed in 1 patient with R0 resection ( 1/10 ) . Ten cases completed radiotherapy and 8 cases completed chemotherapy. Nausea ( 3/11 ) , vomit ( 2/11 ) and anorexia ( 2/11 ) were the most common Grade 3 toxicities. Conclusions NACRT showed an acceptable toxicity and promising activity in locally advanced gastric adenocarcinoma.
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Objective To investigate the therapeutic effects and toxic effects of radiochemotherapy versus chemotherapy alone in patients with advanced gastric cancer after gastrectomy.Methods A total of 183 patients with stage Ⅱ-Ⅳ (M0) gastric cancer,who received treatment after gastrectomy from 2004 to 2010,were included in the study.Of the 183 patients,64 received radiochemotherapy after gastrectomy,and 119 received chemotherapy alone after gastrectomy.The survival rates and hematological and gastrointestinal toxic effects were compared between the two groups;survival difference was also analyzed after the patients were stratified by TNM stage,number of metastatic lymph nodes,and extent of lymph node dissection (D0,D1,and D2).The Kaplan-Meier method was used for calculating survival rates,and the log-rank test was used for survival difference analysis and univariate prognostic analysis;the chi-square test was used for comparing toxic effects between the two groups.Results The follow-up rate was 87.8％ ;72 patients were followed up for at least 3 years,and 29 patients for at least 5 years.The 1-,3-,and 5-year survival rates for the radiochemotherapy group were 86％,62％,and 55％,respectively,as compared with 77％,53％,and 43％ for the chemotherapy group (P =0.079).There were no significant differences in grade 3-4 hematological and gastrointestinal toxic effects between the two groups (P =0.363 and 0.617).The univariate analysis showed that radiochemotherapy had a significantly better survival benefit than chemotherapy alone in patients with stage ⅢB-Ⅳ (M0) gastric cancer,patients who underwent D0 lymph node dissection,and patients with more than 6 metastatic lymph nodes (P =0.022,0.025,and 0.021).Conclusions Compared with chemotherapy alone,radiochemotherapy tends to improve survival in patients with gastric cancer after gastrectomy,and its toxic effects are tolerable.The patients with stage ⅢB-Ⅳ (M0) gastric cancer,patients who undergo D0 lymph node dissection,and patients with more than 6 metastatic lymph nodes can benefit from radiochemotherapy.
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ObjectiveTo investigate the efficacy and toxicity of postoperative radiochemotherapy compared with chemotherapy alone in the treatment of locally advanced gastric cancer.MethodsA total of 83 patients with resected adenocarcinoma of the stomach were randomly assigned to postoperative radiochemotherapy group (RCT) ( n =43 ) or chemotherapy alone group (CT) ( n =40 ).Patients in RCT group received radiotherapy concurrent with capecitabine chemotherapy then followed by 4 - 6 cycles of FOLFOX4 chemotherapy.The total dose of radiation was 45 Gy.The dose of capecitabine was 1600 mg/m2per day.In the CT group,patients received 6 - 8 cycles FOLFOX4 chemotherapy.Survival was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier method and Logrank test. Results The follow-up rate was 96％. The number of patients who had a minimum of 2-,3-year follow-up time were 37,12 in the RCT group and 31,10 in the CT group.The 1-,2-,3-year local control rates for RCT and CT groups were 100％,97％,94％ and 95％,87％,73％ (x2 =4.54,P =0.033),respectively.The 1-,2-,3-year survival rates were 98％,86％,81％ in the RCT group,with 93％,80％,64％ in the CT group ( x2 =3.96,P =0.047 ).The incidence of grade 3hematological toxicity in the RCT and CT group was 23％ vs 15％ ( x2 =0.93,P =0.630 ),and grade 3gastrointestinal toxicity was 16％ vs 10％ ( x2 =0.95,P =0.624 ). Conclusions Compared with chemotherapy alone,postoperative radiochemotherapy can improve survival of locally advanced gastric cancer patients with acceptable toxicities.
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Objective To identify high-risk group among gastric cancer patients treated with curative resection and more than D1 dissection, and investigate the indications for proper adjuvant therapy.Methods 297 patients who met the following enrolled criteria were retrospectively analyzed:treated between January 2002 and December 2004, primary gastric or gastroesophageal cancer, underwent curative gastrectomy and more than D1 lymphadenectomy, pathologically staged as T3-4N0-1M0,or TxN2-3M0.The overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), local-regional recurrence-free survival (LRFS) and distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) were calculated, and possible prognostic factors were analyzed.Results The median follow-up time was 61 months.The follow-up rate was 92.3%.The 5-year OS, DFS, LRFS and DMFS were 57.9%, 52.2%, 70.6% and 71.7%, respectively.Four independent prognostic variables identified for OS, DFS, LRFS and DMFS using multivariate analysis were Borrmann type (Ⅰ+Ⅱ/Ⅲ+Ⅳ), total number of dissected lymph nodes (>18/≤18), number of positive lymph nodes (0-3/≥4), and 6th AJCC TNM stage (Ⅱ+Ⅲ a/Ⅲ b+ⅣM0)(χ2=3.94-16.34,P<0.05).If one unfavorable prognostic factor was scored as 1, according to the total scores of the four prognostic factors, four risk groups were generated as low (score:0), low-intermediate (score:1), high-intermediate (score:2) and high risk group (score:3 or 4).The 5-year OS, DFS, LRFS and DMFS were 85.7%, 61.0%, 58.6% and 38.6%(χ2=31.20,P<0.01) in low risk group, 85.2%, 61.3%, 48.1% and 31.8%(χ2=31.88,P<0.01) in low-intermediate risk group, 94.4%, 77.8%, 64.4% and 57.2%(χ2=18.36,P<0.01) in high-intermediate risk group and 87.9%, 75.0%, 74.2% and 55.5%(χ2=19.30,P<0.01) in high risk group.Conclusions Even with R0 resection and more than D1 lymphadenectomy, the outcome was poor for gastric cancer patients with two or more unfavorable prognostic factors.Prospective study is warranted to evaluate the efficacy of adjuvant concurrent chemoradiotherapy for this group of patients.
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Objective The benefit of adjuvant chemoradiotherapy remains controversial for gastric cancer patients treated with more than D1 dissection. This retrospective analysis is to distinguish the first site of recurrence in patients treated with curative resection and more than D1 dissection and to find any feasible adjuvant concurrent chemoradiotherapy recommendation for them. Methods All patients treated between January 2002 and December 2004 who met the following criteria were analyzed: primary gastric or gastroesophageal cancer, underwent curative gastrectomy ( UICC R0 ) and more than D1 lymphadenectomy,pathologically staged as T3-4N0-1 M0, or any Tx N2-3M0. There were 297 patients analyzed and 19.5%,52. 2%, 17. 8% , 10. 4% of patients had stage Ⅱ ( T3 N0 M0, T1 N2 M0 ), Ⅲa, Ⅲb and Ⅳ ( M0 ) diseases,respectively. 76. 1% of patients received adjuvant chemotherapy, while Only 2 patients underwent adjuvant radiotherapy. Failure patterns and the prognostic factors for locoregional recurrence were analyzed. Results The median follow-up time was 61 months and the follow-up rate was 92. 3%. 145 patients developed recurrence with a median recurrent time of 26 months. Locoregional recurrence was observed in 82 patients and distant metastasis in 79 patients. Gastric stump, anastomosis, intra-abdominal lymph nodes were the most common sites of locoregional recurrence. Liver and lung were the most frequent sites of distant metastasis. Prognostic variables for locoregional recurrence were identified after univariate analysis,including pathologic type ( χ2 = 11.50, P = 0. 009 ), total number of dissected lymph nodes ( χ2 = 6. 65,P =0. 010), the number of positive lymph node ( χ2 =5. 80,P =0. 016), lymph node capsular invasion ( χ2 =pathologic type, total number of dissected lymph nodes, lymph node capsular invation, AJCC TNM stage and Borrmann type were independent prognostic factors for locoregional recurrence ( χ2 = 6. 77,19. 33,17. 84 and 6. 02,P =0. 009,0. 000,0. 000 and 0. 014). ConclusionsLocoregional recurrence remains the main cause of failure for locally advanced gastric or gastroesophageal cancer patients even though the patients have had more than D1 lymphadenectomy. The role of adjuvant concurrent hemoradiotheray for those patients is warranted.
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ObjectiveTo compare the role of AJCC 6th and 7th TNM staging systems in predicting the long term survival of locally advanced gastric cancer patients after curative surgery. Methods All patients who met the following criteria were included for analyses: treated between January 2002 and December 2004, primary gastric or gastroesophageal cancer, underwent curative gastrectomy ( UICC R0 ) and at least more than D1 lymphadenectomy, pathologically staged as T3-4N0-1 M0, or any T, N2-3M0. Overall survival (OS), disease-free survival ( DFS), locoregional recurrence-free survival (LRFS) and distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) were calculated and compared according to N and TNM stage of the two TNM staging systems (T stage were not analyzed due to its extremely unbalanced distribution). The N and TNM stage and other significant variables in univariate analyses were evaluated further for both OS and DFS by Cox regression. ResultsThe median follow-up time was 61 months. The follow-up rate was 92. 3％.Among the 297 enrolled patients, 56. 9％ of the patients had a stage migration between the two staging systems. According to 6th, no difference in DMFS was detected between different N and TNM stages (x2 =6. 65, P =0. 084 ; x2 =6. 61, P =0. 108 ). When using 7th, statistically significant difference was found in DMFS between different N stages ( x2 =9. 035,P =0. 029), and TNM stage also tended to have an influence on DMFS ( x2 =7.27,P =0. 064). The N and TNM stage had similar significant influence on OS, DFS and LRFS based on both staging systems ( x2 =9. 23 - 19. 00,P =0. 000 -0. 026 and x2 =11.67 - 19. 11 ,P =0. 000 -0. 009).In Cox regression, TNM stage was an independent prognostic variable for both OS and DFS based on these two staging systems (x2=9.05-25.51, P=0.000-0.003 ), but the 7thappeared to be a better predictor than the 6 th ( OS : RR =1.6 1 8 vs 1.4 9 6 ; DFS : RR =1.5 9 4 vs 1. 5 6 4 ).ConclusionsThe N and TNM stage in 7th TNM staging system are more predictive for DMFS than in 6th TNM staging system for locally advanced gastric cancer patients. The 7th TNM staging system provides a better prognostic estimation of both OS and DFS.