Safety and efficacy of a programmed cell death 1 inhibitor combined with oxaliplatin plus S-1 in patients with Borrmann large type III and IV gastric cancers

BACKGROUND Gastric cancer(GC)is the fifth most common and the fourth most lethal malignant tumour in the world.Most patients are already in the advanced stage when they are diagnosed,which also leads to poor overall survival.The effect of posto-perative adjuvant chemotherapy for advanced GC is unsatisfactory with a high rate of distant metastasis and local recurrence.AIM To investigate the safety and efficacy of a programmed cell death 1(PD-1)inhibitor combined with oxaliplatin and S-1(SOX)in the treatment of Borrmann large type III and IV GCs.METHODS A retrospective analysis(IRB-2022-371)was performed on 89 patients with Borrmann large type III and IV GCs who received neoadjuvant therapy(NAT)from January 2020 to December 2021.According to the different neoadjuvant treatment regimens,the patients were divided into the SOX group(61 patients)and the PD-1+SOX(P-SOX)group(28 patients).RESULTS The pathological response(tumor regression grade 0/1)in the P-SOX group was significantly higher than that in the SOX group(42.86%vs 18.03%,P=0.013).The incidence of ypN0 in the P-SOX group was higher than that in the SOX group(39.29%vs 19.67%,P=0.05).The use of PD-1 inhibitors was an independent factor affecting tumor regression grade.Meanwhile,the use of PD-1 did not increase postoperative complications or the adverse effects of NAT.CONCLUSION A PD-1 inhibitor combined with SOX could significantly improve the rate of tumour regression during NAT for patients with Borrmann large type III and IV GCs.

Subtotal gastrectomy combined with chemotherapy: An effective therapy for patients with circumscribed Borrmann type Ⅳ gastric cancer

BACKGROUND Although Borrmann type Ⅳ(B-4) gastric cancer has a higher mortality rate and presents distant metastasis easily, especially peritoneal metastasis, when diagnosed, some B-4 patients were found to have no distant metastasis by preoperative detection and underwent curative surgery, which was defined as circumscribed B-4 in our study. In this study, we focused on the circumscribed B-4 patients without distant metastasis during surgery to identify factors related to prognosis and postoperative peritoneal cavity metastasis(PPCM), which is important for selecting an appropriate therapeutic strategy.AIM To identify factors related to the prognosis and PPCM of B-4 patients.METHODS A total of 117 B-4 patients who underwent gastrectomy between January 2005 and December 2012 were included in this study. Survival analysis was performed using Kaplan–Meier analysis and Cox multivariate models. Pearson correlation analyses were performed to identify the factors related to PPCM. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 20.0.RESULTS Lymph node status, gastrectomy type, and postoperative chemotherapy were independent prognostic factors in 117 circumscribed B-4 patients. Subtotal gastrectomy combined with chemotherapy could significantly improve the longterm survival time. Six patients who were diagnosed with pN0 and received the combination therapy had a 3-year survival rate of 100% and a median survival of 77.7 mo. Even for patients with metastatic lymph nodes(n = 13), the combination therapy also increased the 3-year overall survival rate to 57.1%. In addition, positive lymph node status was the only factor(P = 0.005) correlated with PPCM in certain B-4 patients, and chemotherapy was useful for suppressing PPCM in patients with subtotal gastrectomy but not in those with total gastrectomy.CONCLUSION Lymph node status is an independent prognostic factor for circumscribed B-4 patients. In addition, subtotal gastrectomy and postoperative chemotherapy could effectively improve prognosis and even suppress PPCM.

Prognostic significance of Borrmann type combined with vessel invasion status in advanced gastric cancer

BACKGROUND Borrmann classification(types I-IV)for the detection of advanced gastric cancer has been accepted worldwide,and lymphatic and/or blood vessel invasion(LBVI)status is related to the poor prognosis after gastric cancer.AIM To evaluate the significance of Borrmann type combined with LBVI status in predicting the prognosis of advanced gastric cancer.METHODS We retrospectively studied the clinicopathological characteristics and long-term survival data of 2604 patients who were diagnosed with advanced gastric adenocarcinoma at Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital from January 2009 to December 2013.Categorical variables were evaluated by the Pearson’sχ^2 test,the Kaplan-Meier method was used to identify differences in cumulative survival rates,and the Cox proportional hazards model was used for multivariate prognostic analysis.RESULTS A total of 2604 patients were included in this study.The presence of LVBI[LBVI(+)]and Borrmann type(P=0.001),tumor location(P<0.001),tumor size(P<0.001),histological type(P<0.001),tumor invasion depth(P<0.001),number of metastatic lymph nodes(P<0.001),and surgical method(P<0.001)were significantly correlated with survival.When analyzing the combination of the Borrmann classification and LBVI status,we found that patients with Borrmann type Ⅲ disease and LBVI(+)had a similar 5-year survival rate to those with Borrmann IV+LBVI(-)(16.4%vs 13.1%,P=0.065)and those with Borrmann IV+LBVI(+)(16.4%vs 11.2%,P=0.112).Subgroup analysis showed that the above results were true for any pT stage and any tumor location.Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that Borrmann classification(P=0.023),vascular infiltration(P<0.001),tumor size(P=0.012),pT stage(P<0.001),pN stage(P<0.001),and extent of radical surgery(P<0.001)were independent prognostic factors for survival.CONCLUSION Since patients with Borrmann Ⅲ disease and LBVI(+)have the same poor prognosis as those with Borrmann IV disease,more attention should be paid to patients with Borrmann Ⅲ disease and LBVI(+)during diagnosis and treatment,regardless of the pT stage and tumor location,to obtain better survival results.