Chemotherapy beyond second-line in advanced gastric cancer

Patients with advanced gastric cancer(AGC) can be treated with multiple lines of chemotherapy. Although several randomized trials have demonstrated the benefit of second-line chemotherapy compared with best supportive care, there is no evidence that further lines of chemotherapy will result in substantial prolongation of survival. Despite this, the practice of offering chemotherapy beyond second-line agents to AGC patients is not uncommon if their performance status is well-preserved and they are willing to receive subsequent active treatments. The choice of chemotherapeutic agents depends on the patient's prior regimens. However, there are important controversial issues in the salvage setting of AGC, including a subset of patients who may benefit from chemotherapy, that still remain unanswered. This report reviews the available evidence regarding the impact of third- and subsequent lines of chemotherapy on survival and quality of life in patients with AGC.

Retrospective analysis of extra-gastrointestinal stromal tumors

AIM:To investigate the clinicopathologic features of patients with extra-gastrointestinal stromal tumors(EGISTs)in South Korea.METHODS:A total of 51 patients with an EGIST were identified.The clinicopathologic features,including sex,age,location,tumor size,histology,mitotic rate,immunohistochemical features,genetic status and survival data,were analyzed.RESULTS:The median age was 55 years(range:29-80years),and male:female ratio was 1:1.04.The most common site was in the mesentery(n=15)followed by the retroperitoneum(n=13)and omentum(n=8).The median tumor size was 9.0 cm(range:2.6-30.0cm)and the median mitotic rate was 5.0/50HPF.(1/50-185/50).KIT was analyzed in 16,which revealed 10cases with wild-type KIT and 6 cases with an exon 11mutation.Among 51 patients,31 patients had undergone surgery,and 10 had unresectable disease and had taken palliative imatinib,which resulted in 22.7 mo of progression-free survival.Of the patients who had undergone surgery,18 did not take adjuvant imatinib,and 8 of these were categorized as"high risk"according to the risk criteria.However,the relapse-free survival was not different(P=0.157)between two groups.CONCLUSION:Because the biologic behaviors of GISTs differ according to the location of the tumor,a more stratified strategy is required for managing EGISTs including incorporation of molecular features.

Weekly docetaxel and gemcitabine in previously treated metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

AIM: To assess the efficacy and safety of weekly docetaxel plus a fixed-dose rate(FDR) of gemcitabine in metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma(SCC).METHODS: A multi-center, open-label, prospective phase Ⅱ study was designed.Thirty-three esophageal SCC patients with documented progression after fluoropyrimidine/platinum-based first-line chemotherapy were enrolled and treated with docetaxel 35 mg/m2 and gemcitabine 1000 mg/m2 iv at a FDR(10 mg/m2 per minute) on days 1 and 8.Treatment was repeatedevery twenty-one days until disease progression, unacceptable toxicity, or consent withdrawal.The primary endpoint was response rate(RR), and secondary endpoints were safety, progression-free survival(PFS) and overall survival(OS).RESULTS: Combination of weekly docetaxel and FDR gemcitabine was well tolerated: the most common treatment-related adverse events were anemia(97%), fatigue(64%) and neutropenia(55%).One patient with multiple lung and lymph node metastases died of respiratory failure after receiving four cycles of chemotherapy, and the possibility of drug-induced pneumonitis could not be completely excluded.Disease control(objective response plus stable disease) in the ITT population was achieved in 88% of patients, and the overall RR was 30%(95%CI: 15%-46%).The median PFS and OS were 4.0(95%CI: 3.4-4.6) and 8.8 mo(95%CI: 7.8-9.8 mo), respectively.CONCLUSION: A combination of weekly docetaxel and FDR gemcitabine showed promising antitumor activity and tolerability in previously treated, metastatic esophageal SCC.