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BACKGROUND/PURPOSE Patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) with peritoneal dissemination have a dismal prognosis because discontinuation of systemic chemotherapy is required for massive ascites or poor performance status. The natural history, diagnosis and treatment of PDAC with peritoneal dissemination have not been fully investigated. METHODS We systematically reviewed published information on the clinical diagnosis and treatment of PDAC with peritoneal dissemination using the PubMed database (2000-2020) and provided recommendations in response to clinical questions. This guideline was created according to the "Minds Clinical Practice Guideline Development Guide 2017". The literature quality and body of evidence were evaluated with the GRADE System and classified into four levels ("strong", "medium", "weak", "very weak"). The strength of each final recommendation was decided by a vote of committee members based on the GRADE Grid method. RESULTS These guidelines address 3 subjects: diagnostic, chemotherapeutic, and surgical approaches. They include 9 clinical questions and statements with recommendation strengths, evidence levels, and agreement rates, in addition to one "column". CONCLUSIONS This is the English synopsis of the 2021 Japanese clinical practice guideline for PDAC with peritoneal dissemination. It summarizes the clinical evidence for the diagnosis and treatment of PDAC with peritoneal dissemination and provides future perspectives.

Background The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of first-line chemotherapy with re-introduction of oxaliplatin (OX) more than 6 months after adjuvant chemotherapy including OX. Methods Stage II/III colon cancer patients with neuropathies of grade ≤ 1 who relapsed more than 6 months after adjuvant chemotherapy including OX were considered eligible. Eligible patients were treated with 5-fluorouracil, l-leucovorin and OX plus molecularly targeted agents or capecitabine and OX plus bevacizumab (BV) or S-1 and OX plus BV. The primary endpoint was the progression-free survival (PFS), and the secondary endpoints were the overall survival (OS), response rate (RR) and toxicity. Results A total of 50 patients were enrolled between September 2013 and May 2019. Twelve patients received 5-fluorouracil, l-leucovorin and OX (FOLFOX) plus BV, 21 patients received capecitabine and OX plus BV, 10 patients received S-1 and OX plus BV and 7 patients received FOLFOX plus cetuximab or panitumumab. The median PFS was 11.5 months (95% confidence interval [CI] 8.3–16.0), the median OS was 45.4 months (95% CI 37.4–NA), and the RR was 56.0% (95% CI 42.3–68.8). Adverse events of grade ≥ 3 that occurred in ≥ 5% of cases were neutropenia in 6 patients (12%), peripheral sensory neuropathy in 5 patients (10%), diarrhea in 4 patients (8%), hypertension in 4 patients (8%), anorexia in 3 patients (6%) and allergic reactions in 3 patients (6%). Conclusions First-line chemotherapy with re-introduction of OX more than 6 months after adjuvant chemotherapy including OX can be used safely with expected efficacy for relapsed colon cancer patients.

Purpose The current study aimed to determine the efficacy of trifluridine/tipiracil for elderly patients with advanced colorectal cancer. Methods This single-arm, open-label, multicenter, phase II study included elderly patients aged 65 years or more who had fluoropyrimidine-refractory advanced colorectal cancer and received trifluridine/tipiracil (70 mg/m2, days 1–5 and 8–12, every 4 weeks). The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS), while secondary endpoints included overall survival (OS), overall response rate (ORR), toxicities, association between efficacy and geriatric assessment scores, and association between toxicity and plasma drug concentrations. Results A total of 30 patients with a mean age of 73 years were enrolled. Median PFS was 2.3 months (95% confidence interval, 1.9–4.3 months), while median OS was 5.7 months (95% confidence interval, 3.7–8.9 months). Patients had an ORR of 0%, with 57% having stable disease. Grade 4 neutropenia was observed in 13% of the patients. Patients with a higher G8 score (15 or more) showed longer PFS than those with a lower G8 score (median 4.6 vs. 2.0 months; p = 0.047). Moreover, patients with grade 3 or 4 neutropenia showed higher maximum trifluridine concentrations than those with grade 1 or 2 neutropenia (mean 2945 vs. 2107 ng/mL; p = 0.036). Discussion The current phase II trial demonstrated that trifluridine/tipiracil was an effective and well-tolerated option for elderly patients with advanced colorectal cancer. Moreover, geriatric assessment tools and/or plasma drug concentration monitoring might be helpful in predicting the efficacy and toxicities in elderly patients receiving this drug. Trial registration number UMIN000017589, 15/May/2015 (The University Hospital Medical Information Network)

Purpose The purpose of this clinical study was to be the first to explore whether ART-123, a recombinant human soluble thrombomodulin, prevents oxaliplatin-induced peripheral neuropathy (OIPN). Methods This randomized, phase IIa trial enrolled stage II/III colon cancer patients who received adjuvant mFOLFOX6 chemotherapy. Participants were randomly allocated to 3 arms in a double-blind manner: placebo (placebo: days 1–3); 1-day ART (ART-123: day 1, placebo: days 2–3); and 3-day ART (ART-123: days 1–3). ART-123 (380 U/kg/day) or placebo was infused intravenously before each 2-week cycle of mFOLFOX6. OIPN was assessed with the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy/Gynecological Oncology Group-Neurotoxicity-12 (FACT/GOG-Ntx-12) score by participants and the NCI Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (NCI-CTCAE) by investigators. Results Seventy-nine participants (placebo n = 28, 1-day ART n = 27, 3-day ART n = 24) received study drugs. The least-squares mean FACT/GOG-Ntx-12 scores at cycle 12 from the mixed effect model for repeated measures were 28.9 with placebo, 36.3 with 1-day ART (vs. placebo: 7.3 [95% CI 1.9 to12.8, p = 0.009]), and 32.3 with 3-day ART (vs. placebo: 3.4 [95% CI −.1 to 9.0, p = 0.222]). The cumulative incidence of NCI-CTCAE grade ≥ 2 sensory neuropathy at cycle 12 was 64.3% with placebo, 40.7% with 1-day ART (vs. placebo: −23.5 [95% CI −48.4 to 4.0], p = 0.108), and 45.8% with 3-day ART (vs. placebo: −18.5 [95% CI −44.2 to 9.4], p = 0.264). Common adverse events were consistent with those reported with mFOLFOX6; no severe bleeding adverse events occurred. Conclusion ART-123 showed a potential preventive effect against OIPN with good tolerability. A larger study with 1-day ART is warranted. NCT02792842, registration date: June 8, 2016

The prognosis of patients with type 4 scirrhous gastric cancer remains poor due to a high risk of peritoneal metastasis. We have previously developed combined chemotherapy regimens of intraperitoneal (IP) paclitaxel (PTX) and systemic chemotherapy, and promising clinical efficacy was reported in gastric cancer with peritoneal metastasis. Herein, a randomized, phase III study is proposed to verify the efficacy of IP PTX to prevent peritoneal recurrence. Gastric cancer patients with type 4 tumors and without apparent distant metastasis, including peritoneal metastasis, will be randomized for standard systemic chemotherapy or combined IP and systemic chemotherapy based on peritoneal lavage cytology findings. Those with negative peritoneal cytology will receive radical gastrectomy and adjuvant chemotherapy of S-1 plus docetaxel (control arm), or S-1 plus intravenous and IP PTX (experimental arm). Those with positive peritoneal cytology will receive three courses of S-1 plus oxaliplatin (control arm), or S-1 plus oxaliplatin and IP PTX (experimental arm). Subsequently, they undergo gastrectomy and receive postoperative chemotherapy of S-1 plus docetaxel (control arm), or S-1 plus intravenous and IP PTX (experimental arm). The primary endpoint is disease free survival after a 3-year follow-up period. Secondary endpoints are overall survival, survival without peritoneal metastasis, safety, completion rate, curative resection rate, and histological response of preoperative chemotherapy. A total of 300 patients are to be enrolled.

Purpose We previously reported that the periodic premedication of glucocorticoids during chemotherapy for gastrointestinal cancer (GIC) caused the reduction of bone mineral densities (BMD) (ESPRESSO-01). We conducted this study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of denosumab in the prevention of chemotherapy-induced decreased BMD. Methods Forty-two Japanese patients were studied. Denosumab was administered as a single 60 mg subcutaneous injection before the start of chemotherapy. The primary endpoint was BMD change in the lumbar spine from baseline to 16 weeks. Secondary endpoints were changes in serum cross-linked N-telopeptides of type I collagen (sNTX) and bone alkaline phosphatase (sBAP), complications including hypocalcemia and osteonecrosis of the jaw, new bone fractures, changes in the Japanese Osteoporosis Quality of Life Questionnaire. Results Lumbar spine BMD significantly increased in 71.4% of cases: 2.772% (95% CI, 1.350–4.195%: P < 0.0001). There were also significant decreases in sNTX (P = 0.034) and sBAP levels (P < 0.001). Although one case (2.4%) of jaw osteonecrosis was diagnosed, no fractures occurred. In a cross-trial comparison with ESPRESSO-01, there was no significant difference in the incidence of National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) grade 3 or higher adverse events. However, inclusion of grade ≤2 showed significantly higher incidence of hypocalcemia with any CTCAE grade in ESPRESSO-02 (28.4% in ESPRESSO-01, 54.8% in ESPRESSO-02, P = 0.006) Conclusion Denosumab administration prevented secondary BMD reduction in GIC patients undergoing chemotherapy, and was associated with decreased serum levels of the bone turnover markers BAP and NTX.

Background The ML18174 study, which showed benefits of bevacizumab (BEV) continuation beyond progression (BBP) for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), excluded patients with first-line progression-free survival (PFS) shorter than 3 months. The present study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of second-line chemotherapy after early disease progression during first-line chemotherapy containing bevacizumab. Methods The subjects of this study were mCRC patients who experienced disease progression Results Sixty-one patients were identified as subjects of this study. Baseline characteristics were numerically different between BBP (n = 37) and non-BBP (n = 25) groups, such as performance status (0–1/> 2/unknown: 89/8/3 and 56/40/4%), RAS status (wild/mutant/unknown: 32/54/16 and 76/16/8%). Response rate was 8.6% in BBP group and 9.1% in non-BBP group (p = 1.00). Median PFS was 3.9 months in BBP group and 2.8 months in non-BBP group (HR [95%CI]: 0.79 [0.46–1.34], p = 0.373, adjusted HR: 0.87 [0.41–1.82], p = 0.707). Median overall survival was 8.5 months in BBP group and 5.4 months in non-BBP group (HR 0.66 [0.38–1.12], p = 0.125, adjusted HR 0.53 [0.27–1.07], p = 0.078). Conclusion In mCRC patients who experienced early progression in first-line chemotherapy, second-line chemotherapy showed poor clinical outcomes regardless use of anti-angiogenic agents.

Background Among patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) treated with oxaliplatin (L-OHP)-based chemotherapy, delayed chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) have not been well controlled. Methods We pooled data from two prospective observational studies in Japan and one phase III clinical trial to assess whether delayed CINV could be controlled with a combination of three antiemetics adding a neurokinin-1 receptor antagonist and identified individual risk factors, using an inverse probability treatment-weighted analysis. Results A total of 661 patients were evaluable in this study (median age: 64 years; 391 male, and 270 female). 3 antiemetics controlled delayed nausea (33.18% vs. 42.25%; p = 0.0510) and vomiting (4.15% vs. 16.08%; p p = 0.0012; 2 antiemetics—OR: 1.485; 95% CI: 1.000–2.204; p = 0.0498) and delayed vomiting (female—OR: 2.735; 95% CI: 1.410–5.304; p = 0.0029; 2 antiemetics—OR: 4.551; 95% CI: 2.116–9.785; p = 0.0001). Conclusions Identifying individual risk factors can facilitate personalized treatments for delayed CINV. We recommend a 3-antiemetic combination prophylaxis for CRC patients treated with L-OHP-based chemotherapy, especially for female patients.

Case series Patient: Male, 66 • Male, 72 • Male, 70 Final Diagnosis: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma Symptoms: None Medication: — Clinical Procedure: — Specialty: Diagnostics • Laboratory Objective: Educational purpose Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a rapidly progressive malignancy that exhibits an extremely poor prognosis, with most cases diagnosed at an advanced stage. To date, few reports have explored the natural history of PDAC, and the period leading up to the detection of PDAC as a tumor with contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) remains unclear. Here, we report 3 PDAC cases diagnosed incidentally by repeating imaging examinations during observation of other organ cancers. Case Report: Two patients were undergoing postoperative follow-up for colorectal cancer; owing to the elevation of serum CA19-9 or dilatation of the main pancreatic duct, both cases were finally diagnosed with PDAC. Another patient was administered neoadjuvant chemotherapy for a gastrointestinal stromal tumor; the fluorodeoxyglucose uptake in the pancreas with fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography for the treatment assessment led to the diagnosis of PDAC. All patients underwent frequent CECT for assessment of other diseases, and PDAC became visible with CECT within 3–4 months of the appearance of indirect findings of PDAC. Conclusions: The period leading up to the detection of PDAC as a tumor with CECT was approximately 3–4 months. These cases suggest that additional imaging examinations should be performed when the indirect findings of PDAC are noted. This report adds value to the literature by elucidating the natural course of PDAC.

High thymidine kinase 1 (TK1) activity increases the incorporation of trifluridine (FTD) into DNA; thus, FTD antitumor activity is likely to increase in patients with high tumoral TK1 activity. To date, no established predictive biomarker to indicate the clinical benefit of FTD/tipiracil (TPI) has been identified. We aimed to determine the relationship between TK1 expression and FTD/TPI efficacy in refractory metastatic colorectal cancer.Individual patient data from 2 randomized placebo-controlled trials were analyzed. We measured TK1 protein expression in tumor tissue samples and its relationship with FTD/TPI clinical efficacy using overall survival (OS), progression-free survival, and disease control rate.This study comprised 329 patients (FTD/TPI, 224; placebo, 105). FTD/TPI significantly improved OS versus placebo in the high-expression (cutoff ≥ 15%) TK1 group (median OS, 7.8 vs. 6.8 months; hazard ratio = 0.65; 95% confidence interval, 0.46-0.93; P = .018). The low-expression (cutoff 15%) TK1 group experienced a smaller OS benefit (9.3 vs. 7.4 months; hazard ratio = 0.88; 95% confidence interval, 0.63-1.23; P = .45). For patients who received placebo, the high-expression TK1 group had a slightly worse prognosis than the low-expression TK1 group. The tendency of FTD/TPI efficacy concerning progression-free survival and disease control rate was not similar to that concerning OS between groups.Patients with high TK1 expression showed an improvement in OS when treated with FTD/TPI. Further investigations are warranted to confirm this relationship.

BackgroundThe ML18174 study, which showed benefits of bevacizumab (BEV) continuation beyond progression (BBP) for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), excluded patients with first-line progression-free survival (PFS) shorter than 3 months. The present study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of second-line chemotherapy after early disease progression during first-line chemotherapy containing bevacizumab.MethodsThe subjects of this study were mCRC patients who experienced disease progression ResultsSixty-one patients were identified as subjects of this study. Baseline characteristics were numerically different between BBP (n = 36) and non-BBP (n = 25) groups, such as performance status (0-1/>2: 89/11 and 56/44%), RAS status (wild/mutant/unknown: 28/56/16 and 76/16/8%). Response rate was 5.9% in BBP group and 9.1% in non-BBP group (p = 0.642). Median PFS was 3.7 months in BBP group and 2.8 months in non-BBP group (HR [95%CI]: 0.83 [0.49–1.41], p = 0.489, adjusted HR: 0.97 [0.48–1.96], p = 0.932). Median overall survival was 7.6 months in BBP group and 5.4 months in non-BBP group (HR 0.70 [0.41–1.19], p = 0.191, adjusted HR 0.65 [0.34–1.25], p = 0.195).ConclusionIn patients experienced early progression in first-line chemotherapy, their outcomes of second-line chemotherapy were poor regardless of whether they were in BBP or non-BBP group.

Purpose We previously reported that the periodic premedication of glucocorticoids during chemotherapy for gastrointestinal cancer (GIC) caused the reduction of bone mineral densities (BMD) (ESPRESSO-01). We conducted this study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of denosumab in the prevention of chemotherapy-induced decreased BMD. Methods Forty-two Japanese patients were studied. Denosumab was administered as a single 60 mg subcutaneous injection before the start of chemotherapy. The primary endpoint was BMD change in the lumbar spine from baseline to 16 weeks. Secondary endpoints were changes in serum cross-linked N-telopeptides of type I collagen (sNTX) and bone alkaline phosphatase (sBAP), complications including hypocalcemia and osteonecrosis of the jaw, new bone fractures, changes in the Japanese Osteoporosis Quality of Life Questionnaire. Results Lumbar spine BMD significantly increased in 71.4% of cases: 2.772% (95% CI, 1.350–4.195%: P P = 0.034) and sBAP levels (P P = 0.006) Conclusion Denosumab administration prevented secondary BMD reduction in GIC patients undergoing chemotherapy, and was associated with decreased serum levels of the bone turnover markers BAP and NTX.

Neutropènia induïda per quimioteràpia; Càncer colorectal metastàtic Neutropenia inducida por quimioterapia; Cáncer colorrectal metastásico Chemotherapy-induced neutropenia; Metastatic colorectal cancer Background The phase II J003 (N = 169) and phase III RECOURSE (N = 800) trials demonstrated a significant improvement in survival with trifluridine (FTD)/tipiracil (TPI) versus placebo in patients with refractory metastatic colorectal cancer. This post hoc analysis investigated pharmacokinetic data of FTD/TPI exposure and pharmacodynamic markers, such as chemotherapy-induced neutropenia (CIN) and clinical outcomes. Patients and methods A total of 210 patients from RECOURSE were enrolled in this substudy. A limited sampling approach was used, with three pharmacokinetic samples drawn on day 12 of cycle 1. Patients were categorized as being above or below the median area under the plasma concentration–time curve (AUC) for FTD and TPI. We conducted a post hoc analysis using the entire RECOURSE population to determine the correlations between CIN and clinical outcome. We then carried out a similar analysis on the J003 trial to validate the results. Results In the RECOURSE subset, patients in the high FTD AUC group had a significantly increased CIN risk. Analyses of the entire population demonstrated that FTD/TPI-treated patients with CIN of any grade in cycles 1 and 2 had significantly longer median overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) than patients who did not develop CIN and patients in the placebo group. Patients who required an FTD/TPI treatment delay had increased OS and PFS versus those in the placebo group and those who did not develop CIN. Similar results were obtained in the J003 cohort. Conclusions In RECOURSE, patients with higher FTD drug exposure had an increased CIN risk. FTD/TPI-treated patients who developed CIN had improved OS and PFS versus those in the placebo group and those who did not develop CIN. Similar findings were reported in the J003 cohort, thus validating the RECOURSE results. The occurrence of CIN may be a useful predictor of treatment outcomes for FTD/TPI-treated patients. This study was supported by Taiho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan and Taiho Oncology, Inc., Princeton, NJ, USA. No grant numbers are applicable.

Background The randomized phase III study (WJOG4407G) showed equivalent efficacy between FOLFOX and FOLFIRI in combination with bevacizumab as the first-line treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). We studied whole genome copy number profiles using array-based comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) analysis of tumor tissue samples obtained in this study. The aim of this study was to identify gene copy number alterations that could aid in selecting either FOLFOX or FOLFIRI in combination with bevacizumab for patients with mCRC. Materials and Methods DNA was purified from 154 pretreatment formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue samples (75 from the FOLFOX arm and 79 from the FOLFIRI arm) of 395 patients enrolled in the WJOG4407G trial and analyzed by aCGH. Genomic regions greater than 1.2-fold were regarded as copy number gain (CNG). Results Patient characteristics between the treatment arms were well balanced except for tumor laterality (left side; 64% in FOLFOX arm and 80% in FOLFIRI arm, p = .07). FOLFIRI showed a trend toward better response rate (RR), progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) than FOLFOX in the patients with CNG of chromosome 8q24.1 (Fisher's exact test, p = .134 for RR; interaction test, p = .102 for PFS and p = .003 for OS) and 8q24.2 (Fisher's exact test, p = .179 for RR; interaction test, p = .144 for PFS and p = .002 for OS). Conclusion Chromosome 8q24.1–q24.2 may contain genes that could potentially serve as predictive markers for selecting either FOLFOX or FOLFIRI in combination with bevacizumab for treatment of patients with mCRC. Implications for Practice Bevacizumab has been used as a standard first-line treatment for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) in combination with either oxaliplatin-based or irinotecan-based chemotherapy. Until now, there has been no predictive marker to choose between the two combination chemotherapies. This array-based comparative genomic hybridization analysis revealed that the difference in therapeutic effect between the two combination chemotherapies is prominent in patients with mCRC with gene copy number gain in chromosome 8p24.1–p24.2. Such patients showed more favorable response and survival when treated with irinotecan-based combination chemotherapy. Overlapping genes commonly found in this region may be predictive biomarkers of the efficacy of the combination chemotherapy with bevacizumab.

Cisplatin plus 5‐fluorouracil is regarded as standard neoadjuvant chemotherapy for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) in Japan, but the prognosis remains poor. We have previously described how definitive chemoradiotherapy with docetaxel, nedaplatin, and 5‐fluorouracil (DNF) led to a very high response rate and promising survival times. We therefore undertook a phase II trial to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of neoadjuvant DNF. The study included patients with clinical stage Ib‐III ESCC. Chemotherapy consisted of i.v. docetaxel (30 mg/m2) and nedaplatin (50 mg/m2) on days 1 and 8, and a continuous infusion of 5‐fluorouracil (400 mg/m2/day) on days 1‐5 and 8‐12, every 3 weeks. After three courses of chemotherapy, esophagectomy was carried out. The primary end‐point was the completion rate of the protocol treatment. Twenty‐eight patients were enrolled (cStage Ib/II/III, 2/3/23) and all received at least two cycles of chemotherapy. Twenty‐five patients underwent surgery, all of whom achieved an R0 resection, leading to a completion rate of 89.3%. The overall response rate was 87.0%. A pathological complete response was confirmed in eight (32.0%) cases. Grade 3/4 adverse events included leukopenia (32.1%), neutropenia (39.3%), febrile neutropenia (10.7%), thrombocytopenia (10.7%), and diarrhea (14.3%), but were manageable. Treatment‐related deaths and major surgical complications did not occur. Estimated 2‐year progression‐free and overall survival rates were 70.4% and 77.2%, respectively. Thus, DNF therapy was well tolerated and deemed feasible, with a strong tumor response in a neoadjuvant setting for ESCC. This trial is registered with the University Hospital Medical Information Network (UMIN ID: 000014305).

Background Although Asian population was recognized to have a lower risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE), its increasing prevalence and incidence remain unclear in patients with malignancies. We attempted to predict VTE development using activation markers of coagulation and fibrinolysis. Methods We enrolled patients with malignancy admitted to Tonan Hospital between April and December 2014 to receive a new-for-them chemotherapy regimen. All patients were examined for VTE by computed tomography and whole-leg compression ultrasonography before chemotherapy and three months later. We also examined plasma levels of thrombin-antithrombin complex (TAT) and plasmin α2-plasmin inhibitor complex (PIC) before chemotherapy. The cut off values of TAT and PIC were set at 2.1 ng/mL and 1.8 μg/mL, respectively. Results Of 97 patients, the majority (67%) had distant metastases. The most common malignancies were colorectal (26%), breast (23%), and stomach (19%) cancer. VTE was detected in 29 patients (31%); all were asymptomatic. VTE was newly developed in 12 patients in the three-month observation period, which means the incidence was 49 per 1000 person-years. Non-increased PIC with increased TAT was the only significant risk factor for both VTE prevalence and incidence in multivariate analysis, and the odds ratios were 3.0 (95% confidence interval, 1.1–8.2; P = 0.034) and 9.4 (95% confidence interval, 1.7–51.9; P = 0.011), respectively. Conclusions The prevalence and incidence of VTE were high in hospitalized Japanese patients receiving chemotherapy for malignancies. Non-increased PIC with increased levels of TAT may be an independent risk factor for VTE development.

This abstract was withdrawn by the authors.

The purpose of this clinical study was to be the first to explore whether ART-123, a recombinant human soluble thrombomodulin, prevents oxaliplatin-induced peripheral neuropathy (OIPN).This randomized, phase IIa trial enrolled stage II/III colon cancer patients who received adjuvant mFOLFOX6 chemotherapy. Participants were randomly allocated to 3 arms in a double-blind manner: placebo (placebo: days 1-3); 1-day ART (ART-123: day 1, placebo: days 2-3); and 3-day ART (ART-123: days 1-3). ART-123 (380 U/kg/day) or placebo was infused intravenously before each 2-week cycle of mFOLFOX6. OIPN was assessed with the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy/Gynecological Oncology Group-Neurotoxicity-12 (FACT/GOG-Ntx-12) score by participants and the NCI Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (NCI-CTCAE) by investigators.Seventy-nine participants (placebo n = 28, 1-day ART n = 27, 3-day ART n = 24) received study drugs. The least-squares mean FACT/GOG-Ntx-12 scores at cycle 12 from the mixed effect model for repeated measures were 28.9 with placebo, 36.3 with 1-day ART (vs. placebo: 7.3 [95% CI 1.9 to12.8, p = 0.009]), and 32.3 with 3-day ART (vs. placebo: 3.4 [95% CI -.1 to 9.0, p = 0.222]). The cumulative incidence of NCI-CTCAE grade ≥ 2 sensory neuropathy at cycle 12 was 64.3% with placebo, 40.7% with 1-day ART (vs. placebo: -23.5 [95% CI -48.4 to 4.0], p = 0.108), and 45.8% with 3-day ART (vs. placebo: -18.5 [95% CI -44.2 to 9.4], p = 0.264). Common adverse events were consistent with those reported with mFOLFOX6; no severe bleeding adverse events occurred.ART-123 showed a potential preventive effect against OIPN with good tolerability. A larger study with 1-day ART is warranted. NCT02792842, registration date: June 8, 2016.

Background The objective of this randomized phase II trial was to evaluate efficacy and safety of the therapeutic sequence of regorafenib followed by cetuximab, compared with cetuximab followed by regorafenib, as the current standard sequence for metastatic colorectal cancer patients. Patients and methods Patients with KRAS exon 2 wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer after failure of fluoropyrimidine, oxaliplatin, and irinotecan were randomized to receive sequential treatment with regorafenib followed by cetuximab ± irinotecan (R-C arm), or the reverse sequence [cetuximab ± irinotecan followed by regorafenib (C-R arm)]. The primary end point was overall survival (OS). Key secondary end points included progression-free survival (PFS) with initial treatment (PFS1), PFS with second treatment (PFS2), safety, and quality of life. Exploratory end points included serial biomarker analyses, including oncogenic alterations from circulating tumor DNA or multiple serum or plasma proteins. Results One-hundred one patients were randomized and eligible for efficacy analysis. Sequential treatment was successful in 86% patients in both arms. Median OS for R-C and C-R was 17.4 and 11.6 months, respectively (P = 0.0293), with a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.61 for OS [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.39–0.96]. The HR for PFS1 (regorafenib in R-C versus cetuximab in C-R) was 0.97 (95% CI 0.61–1.54), and PFS2 (C in R-C versus R in C-R) was 0.29 (95% CI 0.17–0.50). No unexpected safety signals were observed. The quality of life scores during the entire treatment period was not significantly different between the two arms. Circulating biomarker analyses showed emerging oncogenic alterations in RAS, BRAF, EGFR, HER2, and MET, which were more commonly detected after cetuximab than after regorafenib. Conclusions The therapeutic sequence of regorafenib followed by cetuximab suggests a longer OS than the current standard sequence.

TPS4152 Background: Paclitaxel and ramucirumab combination therapy had become a standard regimen in the second-line treatment of advanced gastric cancer, since RAINBOW trial showed paclitaxel and ramucirumab combination therapy increased overall survival compared with paclitaxel monotherapy. However, the incidence of neuropathy in paclitaxel and ramucirumab combination therapy has been reported 70.6% and 38.3% in Japanese and western patients, and the toxicity sometimes disturbs treatment continuation. Whereas docetaxel monotherapy used to be one of standard second-line treatment of advanced gastric cancer as well as paclitaxel monotherapy because the phase III trial, COUGAR-2 showed clinical benefit of docetaxel monotherapy. In addition, the combination therapy of docetaxel and ramucirumab was reported to cause neuropathy at an incidence of 21.3% in patients with lung cancer. Based on these results, we hypothesized that the combination therapy of docetaxel and ramucirumab for patients with gastric cancer could be as effective as the paclitaxel and ramucirumab combination therapy and could reduce the incidence of neuropathy. Therefore, we planned to develop new combination chemotherapy with docetaxel and ramucirumab for advanced gastric cancer. Methods: To evaluate efficacy and safety of docetaxel and ramucirumab combination therapy, HGCSG1903 study started as a multicenter, non-randomized, single arm, prospective, phase II study in November 2020. The patients with metastatic gastric adenocarcinoma that were refractory or intolerant to initial chemotherapy are eligible. Docetaxel and ramucirumab combination therapy is administered as follows; an intravenous infusion of docetaxel at 60 mg/m2 on day 1, an intravenous infusion of ramucirumab at 8 mg/kg on day 1 and day 15 of each 4-week cycle is performed. The therapy is repeated until disease progression, unacceptable toxicity, or patient refusal. The primary endpoint is response rate, and the secondary endpoints are overall survival, progression-free survival, safety, and dose intensity for each drug. The response rate is calculated based on the RECIST version 1.1 criteria. Adverse events are evaluated using the CTCAE v5.0 criteria. A hypothesis test of binary probability was performed, with condition that threshold of response rate was set to 10.7% of docetaxel monotherapy in phase III trial and the expected response rate was set to 27.9% of paclitaxel and ramucirumab combination therapy in RAINBOW trial. A minimum number of cases that achieved a detection power of 80% at a one-sided significance level of 5% was calculated to be 32 cases. In anticipation of dropouts, the total number of registration cases was set to 35. Sixteen institutions are participated, and the registration period is 2 years. This study is registered with Japan Registry of Clinical Trials (jRCTs011200010). Clinical trial information: jRCTs011200010.

217 Background: Ramucirumab (RAM) is a fully human IgG1 monoclonal vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) antibody. The RAINBOW trial showed RAM plus paclitaxel (PTX) increased overall survival (OS) compared with PTX alone for advanced gastric cancer (AGC) in second-line treatment. WJOG 4007 trial demonstrated equivalent efficacy between irinotecan (IRI) and PTX. We conducted this trial to examine the efficacy and safety of RAM plus IRI combination therapy in the second-line treatment for AGC. Methods: This non-randomized, single arm, phase 2 trial was carried out at 22 institutes in Japan. AGC patients with refractory or intolerance to primary chemotherapy were eligible. RAM 8 mg/kg and IRI 150 mg/m2 combination therapy administered every two weeks were continued until progression or emergence of adverse events requiring discontinuation. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS) rate at six-month, the target was set as 16% with an expected threshold of 39%. A total of 35 cases are planned for registration. The secondary endpoints were OS, PFS, response rate (RR) and safety. This trial was registered with Japan Registry of Clinical Trials, number jRCTs011180029. Results: Between Jan 2018 and Sept 2019, 35 patients were enrolled. Median age was 70 (range, 47-80); female/male were 10/25; ECOG PS 0/1, 22/13. PFS rate at six months was 26.5% (95%C.I., 13.2-41.8%, p = 0.1353). Median PFS and OS were 4.2 (95%C.I., 2.5-5.4 months) and 9.6 months (95%C.I., 6.5-16.6 months), respectively. RR was 26% and disease control rate was 85%. Grade 3 or higher adverse events that occurred in more than 5% of patients were neutropenia (51%), leucopenia (43%), anemia (20%), anorexia (14%), febrile neutropenia (11%), diarrhea (9%), hypertension (9%), proteinuria (9%), hypokalemia (9%), hypoalbuminemia (9%), thrombocytopenia (6%), and hyponatremia (6%). No death and new safety signals with a causal relation to study treatment were observed. Conclusions: Although the primary endpoint was not achieved statistically, the results are clinically encouraging, especially take into account that more elderly patients enrolled in this trial. The combination of RAM plus IRI has anti-cancer activity and manageable safety profile in second-line treatment for patients with AGC. Clinical trial information: jRCTs011180029.

Background: As a symptom of pyomyositis, sepsis usually follows local inflammation signs. Here, we report pyomyositis with lymphedema of upper extremity in which septic shock and poor local findings initially presented during chemotherapy for breast cancer. Case Report: An 80-year-old woman presented with chronic right shoulder pain during chemotherapy for the recurrent disease. She had a history of postmastectomy lymphedema, diabetes mellitus, and repeated hyaluronic acid injections to the shoulder joint. The pain suddenly worsened with septic shock and no apparent local signs. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed myonecrosis, and no pus was yielded by ultrasound-guided needle aspiration. After 2 weeks of recovery by conservative medical management, surgical drainage was performed. Late formulated massive intramuscular pus showed severe neutrophil infiltration and myonecrosis. Conclusion: Pyomyositis can develop into septic shock with poor local signs. Myelosuppression after chemotherapy can cause myonecrosis without macroabscess, and magnetic resonance imaging was useful for the diagnosis of this condition. When unspecified local pain appears during cancer chemotherapy we should consider this disease, too.

Intravenous and intraperitoneal paclitaxel with S-1 is showing promising results in gastric cancer with peritoneal metastases. We herein report a successful conversion of unresectable to resectable disease using combination chemotherapy with trastuzumab. The patient was a 39-year-old woman with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive gastric cancer with peritoneal, pulmonary and bilateral ovarian metastases. After 6 cycles of S-1 plus cisplatin with trastuzumab, followed by 15 cycles of intravenous and intraperitoneal paclitaxel with S-1 and trastuzumab, the pulmonary and peritoneal metastases exhibited complete response and no evidence of malignancy was found on diagnostic laparoscopy. We performed metastasectomy of the bilateral sizeable ovaries, followed by total gastrectomy. The patient had no recurrence for 16 months after the gastrectomy. Therefore, satisfactory response to systemic and intraperitoneal chemotherapy may convert unresectable to resectable disease, and primary tumor resection with ovarian metastasectomy may prolong survival. This combination chemotherapy has the potential of becoming a conversion therapy for gastric cancer with peritoneal metastases, even if ascites and ovarian metastases are extensive.

Combination chemotherapy consisting of systemic and intraperitoneal agents against peritoneal metastases from several types of cancer has shown promising results. We herein report a case in which combination therapy with intravenous and intraperitoneal paclitaxel with S-1 converted an unresectable pancreatic cancer with peritoneal metastases into a resectable one. The patient was a 65-year old woman with recurrent pancreatitis for 5 months. Endoscopic ultrasonography-guided fine-needle aspiration revealed minute epithelial masses composed of cells with irregular nuclei in the pancreatic body. The patient underwent abdominal surgery, but no excision was performed, as two peritoneal metastases in the bursa omentalis were detected. Combination therapy was initiated, consisting of intravenous and intraperitoneal paclitaxel with S-1 as a single-center clinical trial. The regimen consisted with 2-week administration of S-1 (80 mg per day) followed by 1 week of rest, intravenous paclitaxel 50 mg/m2, and intraperitoneal paclitaxel 20 mg/m2 by a peritoneal access device on days 1 and 8. Over the seven cycles of the chemotherapy, the primary lesion did not change in size, and peritoneal lavage cytology remained negative. After confirming the disappearance of the peritoneal lesions by exploratory laparoscopy, the patient underwent distal pancreatectomy combined with resection of the transverse mesocolon and stomach wall. Thus, the 2-way chemotherapy of intravenous and intraperitoneal paclitaxel with S-1 was well-tolerated and was able to convert pancreatic cancer with peritoneal metastases to resectable disease.

Patient: Female, 75 Final Diagnosis: Erythropoietin-secreting colon cancer Symptoms: None Medication: — Clinical Procedure: Immunohistochemistry Specialty: Hematology Objective: Rare disease Background: Paraneoplastic erythrocytosis can be brought on by ectopic erythropoietin production usually in kidney, brain, and liver tumor with increase of serum erythropoietin level. We report here a paraneoplastic erythrocytosis of colon cancer with serum erythropoietin within the normal reference, which required an immunohistologic test for erythropoietin-antibody to be diagnosed. Case Report: Our case report was of a 75-year-old woman with erythrocytosis. Her hemoglobin and serum erythropoietin levels were 191 g/dL and 12.6 IU/L (reference range, 9.1–32.8), respectively. Colonoscopy revealed an advanced sigmoid colon tumor 20 mm in diameter. She underwent colectomy, and immunohistochemical examination showed the colon adenocarcinoma was focally positive for erythropoietin-antibody. One month after the surgery, her hemoglobin level decreased to 117 g/L. Conclusions: Colon cancer can cause paraneoplastic erythrocytosis, and it is important to consider not simply the absolute serum erythropoietin level but also the serum erythropoietin level relative to simultaneously measured hemoglobin level. We should include paraneoplastic erythrocytosis as a differential diagnosis in cases of high hemoglobin level unexplained by other diseases.

Clinicians generally suspect pulmonary tumor embolism (PTE) with uncontrolled carcinomas which often spread to lungs. We, however, experienced an autopsy case of diffuse microscopic PTE despite controlled liver metastases of transitional cell carcinoma (TCC). A 66-year-old man with progressing respiratory symptoms showed almost normal chest findings on computed tomography. Although liver metastases were successfully shrunk by chemotherapy, the patient died from aggressive respiratory failure. An autopsy revealed small pulmonary vessels showing diffuse tumor emboli. TCC can cause PTE even if liver metastases are controlled. We must therefore be aware that PTE can manifest as respiratory symptoms without any computed tomography findings.

TPS4668 Background: Combination chemotherapy with oxaliplatin, irinotecan, fluorouracil and leucovorin (FOLFIRINOX) showed improved survival compared to gemcitabine monotherapy for patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer and has become the one of the standard regimens. Despite of its clinical benefit, FOLFIRNIOX needs continuous infusion of 5-FU for 46 hours, which impairs quality of life. In other gastrointestinal cancer, infuser pomp free regimens, in which oral 5-FU drug replace the continuous infusion of 5-FU, have developed as alternative regimen. Therefore, we planned to develop new combination chemotherapy with oxaliplatin, irinotecan and S-1 (OX-IRIS) for advanced pancreatic cancer. We previously conducted the phase Ⅰ study for assessing the safety and determining the recommended dose of OX-IRIS regimen. Methods: To evaluate efficacy and safety of OX-IRIS, HGCSG1803 study staeted as a multicenter, non-randomized, single arm, prospective, phase II study in December 2019. The patients with untreated metastatic or relapsed pancreatic cancer are eligible for this study. OX-IRIS is administered as follows; a 30-min intravenous infusion (IV) of antiemetic, a 2-h IV of oxaliplatin at 85 mg/m2, a 1.5-h IV of irinotecan at 150 mg/m2 on day 1 and day 15 of each 4-week cycle, and S-1 (40 mg/m2) was taken orally twice daily, from after dinner on day 1 to after breakfast on day 15, followed by a 14-day rest, and to be repeated every 2 weeks until disease progression, unacceptable toxicity, or patient refusal. The primary endpoint is response rate, and the secondary endpoints are overall survival, progression-free survival, safety, and dose intensity for each drug. A total of 40 cases are planned for registration from 18 institutions in Japan within 2.5 years. Clinical trial information: jRCTs011190008 .

113 Background: BBP has been recognized as one of the standard 2nd-line treatment strategy for pts with mCRC based on the ML18147 trial. However, this trial excluded pts with disease progression < 3 months in the 1st-line BEV-containing chemotherapy. Methods: The subjects were mCRC pts who received the 2nd-line chemotherapy after experiencing disease progression < 100 days in the 1st-line BEV-containing chemotherapy between Apr 2010 and Dec 2016. This multi-institutional retrospective study compared the efficacy and safety between the 2nd-line chemotherapy with BEV (BBP) and without BEV (non-BBP), adjusting ECOG PS, WBC, ALP, number of metastatic sites, RAS status, and sidedness using Cox proportional hazard model. Results: 61 pts were evaluated. Patients' backgrounds were numerically different between BBP (n = 36) and non-BBP (n = 25), such as PS (0-1/2≤/unknown: 89/8/3 and 56/40/4%) and RASstatus (wild/mutant/unknown: 28/56/16 and 76/16/8%). There were no significant differences in age (median: 59 and 57), sex (male/female: 53/47 and 32/68%), tumor location (right/left: 44/56 and 40/60%), disease status (stage IV/recurrence: 67/33 and 84/16%), number of metastatic sites (1/2≤: 33/67 and 20/80%), the 1st-line regimens (oxaliplatin-based/irinotecan-based: 83/17 and 96/4%) between two arms. The 2nd-line chemotherapy regimens with EGFR antibody-containing/cytotoxic alone were 64/36% in non-BBP, respectively. The response rates were 5.9 and 8.7% in BBP and non-BBP. Median PFS were 3.7 and 2.8 months (HR 0.83, 95%CI 0.49-1.41, p = 0.486; adjusted HR 0.97, 95%CI 0.48-1.96, p = 0.932), respectively. The proportions of pts who received subsequent chemotherapy were 58 and 32% (p = 0.068). Median OS were 7.6 and 5.4 months (HR 0.70, 95%CI 0.41-1.19, p = 0.193; adjusted HR 0.65, 95%CI 0.34-1.25, p = 0.195). Common grade 3-4 adverse events (AEs) were neutropenia (11/24%) and anemia (3/16%), and other AEs were similar between two arms. Conclusions: The 2nd-line chemotherapy for pts with early progression in the 1st-line BEV-containing chemotherapy showed poor outcomes regardless of strategy.

IntroductionLenvatinib, an oral molecular targeted drug, is used to treat patients with unresectable or advanced thyroid carcinoma that is refractory to radioiodine treatment. Effective methods for evaluating molecular targeted drugs are a critical unmet need owing to their expensive costs and unique adverse events. The aim of this study is to determine whether18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/CT at 1 week after commencing lenvatinib can predict treatment outcomes.Design and methodsThis study is planned as a non-randomised single-arm multicentre study; patients with pathologically confirmed differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) with lesions that are refractory to radioiodine treatment are eligible. The main exclusion criteria are medullary or anaplastic carcinoma, prior treatment with chemotherapy, poor general condition and thromboembolism-requiring treatment. Patients to be included in the study will be treated with lenvatinib and undergo FDG-PET/CT examination twice: before and 1 week after the initiation of treatment. Contrast-enhanced CT, the gold standard for evaluation, will be performed at least 4 weeks after the initiation of treatment. The primary objective is to evaluate the ability of the lesion maximum standard uptake value for FDG PET/CT performed 1 week after the initiation of treatment to predict outcomes compared with the response evaluation obtained via contrast-enhanced CT performed at least 4 weeks after the initiation of treatment.Ethics and disseminationThis study is conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and has received ethical approval from the institutional review board of the Hokkaido University Hospital (approval number: 015-402). The results of this study will be disseminated through a presentation at a conference and the publication of the data in a peer-reviewed journal. The study will be implemented and reported in line with the SPIRIT statement.Trial registration numberUMIN000022592.

Chemoradiotherapy is the standard treatment for anal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Recently?it has been reported that a combination therapy of taxane, platinum and fluoride pyrimidine is useful for SCC. A 58-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital with anal pain and constipation. Computed tomography (CT) scan revealed a 9×6 cm tumor, stenosis in the anal region, and swollen pelvic and inguinal lymph nodes. She underwent laparoscopic ileal stomatoplasty and biopsy. A diagnosis of SCC of anal canal was confirmed by histopathological examination. She received a combination therapy with docetaxel, cisplatin and S-1 (DCS), followed by radiation therapy (RT). After her chemoradiotherapy, no abnormal accumulation was observed on a positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) scan, and she was diagnosed with metabolic complete response (CR). The 3-drug combination therapy of taxane, platinum, fluoride pyrimidine followed by RT as primary treatment may be effective in the treatment of anal SCC.

Background The C-cubed study investigates the optimal treatment strategy in patients with untreated metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). We tested the superiority of a sequential treatment of FP+BEV followed by OX+FP+BEV (arm A: OX “wait & go”) at first progression to a combination treatment of OX+FP+BEV (arm B: OX “stop & go”), trial information: UMIN000015405. Methods The Primary endpoint was time-to-failure of strategy (TFS). A target sample size of 304 patients was considered sufficient to validate an expected Hazard Ratio (HR) for TFS of arm A compared with arm B with 80% power and 2-sided 5% α in case of a true HR value of Results Between Dec 2014 and Sep 2016, 311 patients were enrolled, and 302 patients were randomized either to receive the arm A (n = 151) or B (n = 151) as a full analysis set (FAS). Superiority of TFS in the arm A was established in this study (HR, 0.475; 95% CI, 0.362–0.623; p Table . 571P Table Endpoint Arm A, “wait & go” (n = 151) Months (95%CI) Arm B, “stop & go” (n = 151) Months (95%CI) p-value (log rank) TFS (FAS) 15.2 (12.5 – 17.2) 7.6 (6.2 – 9.5) OS (FAS) 27.5 (24.4 – 32.7) 29.4 (24.1 – 36.0) 0.6692 Factor RAS WT (n = 112) Months (95%CI) RAS MT (n = 167) Months (95%CI) p-value (log rank) TFS Arm A 14.0 (11.2 – 19.0) 15.3 (12.4 – 17.2) 0.3126 Arm B 7.8 (7.0 – 10.5) 7.4 (5.2 – 9.6) 0.1615 OS Arm A 27.5 (22.6 – NC) 28.0 (23.4 – 32.7) 0.3143 Arm B 34.7 (24.5 – NC) 24.3 (19.1 – 32.8) 0.0265 Conclusions The sequential “wait & go” strategy for OX was superior in TFS compared with the combinational “stop & go” accompanying with the equal survival benefit of nearly 30 months. Thus, the sequential approach with FP+BEV followed by OX is deemed an acceptable treatment strategy for patients with mCRC. Clinical trial identification UMIN000015405. Legal entity responsible for the study Japan South West Oncology Group (JSWOG). Funding Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Disclosure T. Nagasaka: Speaker Bureau / Expert testimony: Eli Lilly Japan. Y. Shindo: Research grant / Funding (institution): Chugai; Research grant / Funding (institution): MSD; Research grant / Funding (self): Ono; Research grant / Funding (institution): Daiichi-Sankyo; Research grant / Funding (institution): Lilly. A. Tsuji: Honoraria (institution): Daiichi Sankyo; Honoraria (institution), Speaker Bureau / Expert testimony: Taiho Pharmaceutical; Honoraria (institution), Speaker Bureau / Expert testimony: Chugai Pharma; Honoraria (institution), Speaker Bureau / Expert testimony: Merck Serono; Honoraria (institution), Speaker Bureau / Expert testimony: Takeda Pharmaceutical; Honoraria (institution): Bristol-Myers Squibb Japan. Y. Tsuji: Honoraria (institution): Bayer Co. Ltd; Honoraria (institution): Merck Serono Co. Ltd; Honoraria (institution): Eli Lilly Japan; Honoraria (institution): Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd; Honoraria (institution): Taiho Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd; Honoraria (institution): Ono Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd; Honoraria (institution): Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd; Honoraria (institution): Medicon Co. Ltd. H. Mishima: Research grant / Funding (institution): Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. All other authors have declared no conflicts of interest.

Trastuzumab following anthracycline causes cardiotoxicity in up to 28% of patients. Although the cardiotoxicity is often irreversible once cardiac dysfunction is detected, the early predictor has not been established yet. We prospectively observed breast cancer patients treated with anthracycline or trastuzumab at Tonan Hospital. All patients underwent echocardiography and blood sampling at baseline, and every three months during chemotherapy. Cardiotoxicity was defined as a decline in left ventricular ejection fraction >10% points. Of 40 patients, 34 patients (85%) were treated with anthracycline (epirubicin), 18 (45%) with trastuzumab, and 12 (30%) with both agents. Cardiotoxicity was observed in four patients (10%), who were all treated with both agents. The absolute levels of high-sensitive troponin T (hs-TnT) were increased in all four patients with cardiotoxicity, and all the highest points were observed before or at the time of detection of cardiotoxicity. The highest level of hs-TnT was not significantly different in patients with and without cardiotoxicity. “Hs-TnT increment from baseline to the highest value” and “hs-TnT integration value above baseline” were significantly greater in patients with cardiotoxicity (0.039 vs. 0.007 ng/mL, P = 0.046, 0.113 vs. 0.022 ng months/mL, P = 0.013, respectively). The integration value had 100% sensitivity and specificity with a cutoff level at 0.070 ng months/mL. Hs-TnT assay may be able to predict anthracycline- and trastuzumab-induced cardiotoxicity in breast cancer patients, and the hs-TnT increment or hs-TnT integration value above baseline was more reliable than the absolute value.

Imatinib, sunitinib, and regorafenib show high disease control rates for metastatic or unresectable gastrointestinal stromal tumor. However, partial response rates are low, and complete response to regorafenib had not been reported. Our case was an 81-year-old woman who underwent partial gastrectomy for an extremely large high risk gastrointestinal stromal tumor. Adjuvant imatinib caused intolerable adverse effects. One year after the surgery, local recurrence was diagnosed and sunitinib was started. Sunitinib also caused severe adverse effects. However, long-term disease control for 39 months was achieved with adequate dose reduction. After that period, the local recurrence started to grow rapidly, and the patient underwent total gastrectomy and distal pancreatectomy with excisions of nearby seeding nodules. Six months after the second operation, two liver metastasis nodules and one peritoneal metastasis nodule were found. We started regorafenib at standard dose. One month after the start of regorafenib treatment, the dose was reduced as follows: 2 weeks administration of 80 mg per day followed by 2 weeks drug holiday, due to intolerable adverse effects. The evaluation computed tomography and 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography could confirm complete response of her liver metastases. Even low dose regorafenib could maintain complete response for 10 months with only mild adverse effect. We report the first case of clinical complete response by regorafenib against liver metastases of gastrointestinal stromal tumor with intolerance to imatinib and refractory to sunitinib.

Background 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) is a key drug in treatment of unresectable advanced gastric cancer (AGC). It is known that intravenous 5-FU and oral fluorouracil have different mechanism as anti-cancer drugs, however, a clinical benefit of intravenous 5-FU after using oral fluorouracil is not clear. Therefore, we planned a prospective study to assess the efficacy and safety of weekly intravenous 5-FU and l-leucovorin(l-LV) in Japanese patients with AGC which was resistant for oral fluorouracil, taxane, and platinum. This encore abstract was previously reported at the ESMO 21st World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer 2019; the abstract number was P-176. Methods This regimen consisted of l-LV 250mg/m2/2h iv and 5-FU 600mg/m2 iv once a week for 6 weeks followed by 2-week rest period, within an 8-week cycle. The primary endpoint was the progression free survival (PFS) rate at 8 weeks. Results Among the 29 enrolled patients, PFS rate at 8 weeks was 55.2% (95% CI 35.6% to 71.0%), which was higher than 47.5% which is the expected value of the hypothesis, and the lower limit of 95% CI is significantly higher than the threshold which is 23.1%. Grade 3 to 4 hematological adverse events (AE) were as follows; anemia 20.7%, neutropenia 3.4%, and platelet count decreased 3.4%. Grade 3 to 4 non-hematological AE were observed as follows; anorexia 20.7%, fatigue 13.8%, and diarrhea 3.4%. Conclusions The intravenous 5-FU and l-LV regimen is feasible and could be promising as the salvage line treatment in patients with AGC even if that is resistant for oral fluorouracil, taxane and platinum. Legal entity responsible for the study The Helsinki Ethical Principles (revised in Oct, 2013) and the Ethical Guidelines for Medical and Health Research involving in Human Subjects in 2014. Funding Hokkaido Gastrointestinal Cancer Study Group. Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.

TPS183 Background: As second-line chemotherapy for gastric cancer, a survival benefit has been shown in several clinical trials. Irinotecan and taxanes are recommended as second-line regimen. However, therapeutic outcomes have remained unsatisfactory and more effective treatment are expected. Ramucirumab (RAM) is a fully human IgG1 monoclonal vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) antibody that prevents ligand binding of VEGF-A, VEGF-C, and VEGF-D and the receptor-mediated pathway activation in endothelial cells, subsequently inhibiting neovascularization. In the REGARD study, RAM monotherapy for previously treated advanced gastric or gastro-esophageal junction adenocarcinoma improved median overall survival (mOS) compared with placebo. Moreover, in the RAINBOW study, RAM plus paclitaxel (PTX) versus placebo plus PTX, mOS showed significantly longer in RAM plus PTX group than in placebo plus PTX group. In contrast, there are no data on the efficacy of RAM and irinotecan in the second-line treatment for gastric cancer. The WJOG 4007 study demonstrated an equivalent efficacy between irinotecan and PTX. In this study, we propose to examine the efficacy of RAM plus irinotecan. Methods: This study is carried out as a multicenter, non-randomized, single arm, prospective, phase II study. The patients with metastatic or advanced gastric cancer that is refractory or intolerance to primary chemotherapy are eligible for this study. RAM and irinotecan combination therapy is administered every two weeks, which is continued until progression or emergence of adverse events requiring discontinuation. The primary endpoint is progression-free survival rate at six months, and the secondary endpoints are OS, progression-free survival, response rate, safety, and dose intensity for each drug. A total of 35 cases areplanned for registration. This study is registered with the University Hospital Medical Information Network. Clinical trial information: UMIN000030372.

Since the best chemotherapy regimen for each patient with advanced gastric cancer is uncertain, we aimed to identify molecular prognostic or predictive biomarkers from biopsy specimens in JCOG9912, a randomized phase III trial for advanced gastric cancer.Endoscopic biopsy specimens from primary lesions were collected in 445 of 704 randomized patients in JCOG9912. We measured the mRNA expression of excision repair cross-complementing group 1 (ERCC1), thymidylate synthase, dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase, and five other genes, then, categorized them into low and high groups relative to the median, and examined whether gene expression was associated with efficacy end point.Multivariate analyses showed that high ERCC1 expression [HR 1.37; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.08-1.75; P = 0.010], performance status ≥ 1 (HR 1.45; 95% CI 1.13-1.86; P = 0.004), and number of metastatic sites ≥ 2 (HR 1.66; 95% CI 1.28-1.86; P0.001) were associated with a poor prognosis, and recurrent disease (versus unresectable; HR 0.75; 95% CI 0.56-1.00; P = 0.049) was associated with a favorable prognosis. None of these molecular factors were a predictive marker for choosing irinotecan plus cisplatin or 5-fluorouracil rather than S-1.These correlative analyses suggest that ERCC1 is an independent prognostic factor for overall survival in the first-line treatment of gastric cancer.C000000062, www.umin.ac.jp.

Anti-EGFR mAb is reported to induce EGFR internalization in colorectal cancer cells. However, the biological relevance of EGFR internalization with anti-EGFR mAb is unknown. Therefore, the relevance of EGFR downregulation with anti-EGFR mAb to antitumor activity in colorectal cancer cells was investigated. Quantification of EGFR on the cell surface before cetuximab treatment was assessed by flow cytometry, and its growth-inhibitory effects were measured by Trypan blue exclusion, in 10 RAS, BRAF wild-type colorectal cancer cell lines, but there was no significant correlation between EGFR number and its growth-inhibitory effect. However, a significant correlation existed between the percentage decrease in the number of EGFRs after cetuximab treatment and its growth-inhibitory effect in those cell lines. Treatment with TGFα, a ligand for EGFR, induced EGFR internalization in colorectal cancer cells, but most EGFRs subsequently recycled to the cell surface, consistent with previous studies. While cetuximab treatment induced EGFR internalization, most receptors subsequently translocated into the late endosome, leading to lysosomal degradation, as revealed by immunoblotting and double immunofluorescence. Cetuximab-sensitive colorectal cancer cells showed greater EGFR internalization, stronger cell growth inhibition, and more augmented apoptotic signals than nonsensitive cells. IHC for EGFR, performed using an EGFR pharmDx Kit (mouse anti-human EGFR mAb clone 2-18C9), in clinical specimens before and after anti-EGFR mAb therapy in 13 colorectal cancer patients showed a significant correlation between the response to anti-EGFR mAb and decreased staining after therapy. Implications: This report clearly demonstrates that anti-EGFR mAb facilitates internalization and subsequent degradation of EGFRs in lysosomes, which is an important determinant of the efficacy of anti-EGFR mAb treatment for colorectal cancer. Mol Cancer Res; 15(10); 1445–54. ©2017 AACR.

Background FOLFIRI and FOLFOX have shown equivalent efficacy for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), but their comparative effectiveness is unknown when combined with bevacizumab. Patients and methods WJOG4407G was a randomized, open-label, phase III trial conducted in Japan. Patients with previously untreated mCRC were randomized 1:1 to receive either FOLFIRI plus bevacizumab (FOLFIRI + Bev) or mFOLFOX6 plus bevacizumab (mFOLFOX6 + Bev), stratified by institution, adjuvant chemotherapy, and liver-limited disease. The primary end point was non-inferiority of FOLFIRI + Bev to mFOLFOX6 + Bev in progression-free survival (PFS), with an expected hazard ratio (HR) of 0.9 and non-inferiority margin of 1.25 (power 0.85, one-sided α-error 0.025). The secondary end points were response rate (RR), overall survival (OS), safety, and quality of life (QoL) during 18 months. This trial is registered to the University Hospital Medical Information Network, number UMIN000001396. Results Among 402 patients enrolled from September 2008 to January 2012, 395 patients were eligible for efficacy analysis. The median PFS for FOLFIRI + Bev (n = 197) and mFOLFOX6 + Bev (n = 198) were 12.1 and 10.7 months, respectively [HR, 0.905; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.723–1.133; P = 0.003 for non-inferiority]. The median OS for FOLFIRI + Bev and mFOLFOX6 + Bev were 31.4 and 30.1 months, respectively (HR, 0.990; 95% CI 0.785–1.249). The best overall RRs were 64% for FOLFIRI + Bev and 62% for mFOLFOX6 + Bev. The common grade 3 or higher adverse events were leukopenia (11% in FOLFIRI + Bev/5% in mFOLFOX6 + Bev), neutropenia (46%/35%), diarrhea (9%/5%), febrile neutropenia (5%/2%), peripheral neuropathy (0%/22%), and venous thromboembolism (6%/2%). The QoL assessed by FACT-C (TOI-PFC) and FACT/GOG-Ntx was favorable for FOLFIRI + Bev during 18 months. Conclusion FOLFIRI plus bevacizumab was non-inferior for PFS, compared with mFOLFOX6 plus bevacizumab, as the first-line systemic treatment for mCRC. Clinical trials number UMIN000001396.

Summary Chemotherapy is an indispensable therapeutic approach for esophageal cancer. Although chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) is one of the most crucial adverse events, the current state of CINV in patients with esophageal cancer remains unclear. This multicenter prospective observational study analyzed data for 192 patents with esophageal cancer who underwent moderately emetogenic chemotherapy (MEC) or highly emetogenic chemotherapy (HEC). The patients recorded their CINV incidence and severity daily for 7 days after receiving chemotherapy, using visual analog scales (VAS). Of the 192 patients, 181 received HEC including cisplatin, and 11 patients received MEC including nedaplatin. Approximately 81% of HEC and 82% of MEC patients received antiemetic therapy in compliance with guidelines. Although CINV was controlled relatively well in the early phase (days 1–4), it was not fully controlled in late phase (days 5–7) for both the HEC and MEC groups. Female sex was a major risk factor for delayed vomiting (P=0.034). Multivariate logistic regression analysis for VAS revealed that motion sickness, age, and use of other antiemetics were risk factors for delayed nausea. Adherence to antiemetic guidelines effectively controls vomiting but is less effective against delayed CINV in both HEC and MEC patients. Identification of individual risk factors, such as female sex, will help develop personalized treatments for CINV. In the clinical setting for esophageal cancer, regimens that include nedaplatin might need to be treated as HEC.

Summary Background Treatments that confer survival benefit are needed in patients with heavily pretreated metastatic colorectal cancer. The aim of this trial was to investigate the efficacy and safety of TAS-102—a novel oral nucleoside antitumour agent. Methods Between August 25, 2009, and April 12, 2010, we undertook a multicentre, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled phase 2 trial in Japan. Eligible patients were 20 years or older; had confirmed colorectal adenocarcinoma; had a treatment history of two or more regimens of standard chemotherapy; and were refractory or intolerant to fluoropyrimidine, irinotecan, and oxaliplatin. Patients had to be able to take oral drugs; have measurable lesions; have an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of between 0 and 2; and have adequate bone-marrow, hepatic, and renal functions within 7 days of enrolment. Patients were randomly assigned (2:1) to either TAS-102 (35 mg/m 2 given orally twice a day in a 28-day cycle [2-week cycle of 5 days of treatment followed by a 2-day rest period, and then a 14-day rest period]) or placebo; all patients received best supportive care. Randomisation was done with minimisation methods, with performance status as the allocation factor. The randomisation sequence was generated with a validated computer system by an independent team from the trial sponsor. Investigators, patients, data analysts, and the trial sponsor were masked to treatment assignment. The primary endpoint was overall survival in the intention-to-treat population. Safety analyses were done in the per-protocol population. The study is in progress and is registered with Japan Pharmaceutical Information Center, number JapicCTI-090880. Findings 112 patients allocated to TAS-102 and 57 allocated to placebo made up the intention-to-treat population. Median follow-up was 11·3 months (IQR 10·7–14·0). Median overall survival was 9·0 months (95% CI 7·3–11·3) in the TAS-102 group and 6·6 months (4·9–8·0) in the placebo group (hazard ratio for death 0·56, 80% CI 0·44–0·71, 95% CI 0·39–0·81; p=0·0011). 57 (50%) of 113 patients given TAS-102 in the safety population had neutropenia of grade 3 or 4, 32 (28%) leucopenia, and 19 (17%) anaemia. No patient given placebo had grade 3 or worse neutropenia or leucopenia; three (5%) of 57 had grade 3 or worse anaemia. Serious adverse events occurred in 21 (19%) patients in the TAS-102 group and in five (9%) in the placebo group. No treatment-related deaths occurred. Interpretation TAS-102 has promising efficacy and a manageable safety profile in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer who are refractory or intolerant to standard chemotherapies. Funding Taiho Pharmaceutical.