Correspondence to Author:  Miao-Zhen Qiu , 

Department of Medical Oncology, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center; State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, 651 Dongfeng Road East, Guangzhou 510060, China.

Abstract:

Background : Neoadjuvant treatment (NAT) has become the standard treatment for locally advanced gastric cancer (LAGC). A small number of patients could achieve pathological complete response (pCR) after NAT. This study was performed to determine the factors predicting pCR and recurrence, and to investigate the pattern of recurrence in patients with pCR after NAT followed by surgery. Methods : We collected 488 LAGC patients who underwent surgery in three hospitals between September 2015 and October 2022. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS). Logistic regression analyses were performed to identify independent variables associated with pCR and the nomogram was created. Result : 80 (16.4%) patients were found with pCR and had significantly better OS and RFS than non-pCR group. The recurrence rates in the pCR and non-pCR groups were 7.5% (6 of 80) and 40.2% (164 of 408) respectively. However, the recurrence time and location had no significant difference between these two groups. Interestingly, all the 6 pCR patients who had recurrences received adjuvant therapy. Chemotherapy plus immunotherapy as NAT could significantly increase the pCR rate and prolong RFS than chemotherapy alone. Both OS and RFS were not significantly different between all patients who received adjuvant chemotherapy and observation only. Histological type and NAT regimen were independent factors to predict pCR in the nomogram. Conclusion : Patients with pCR had a lower recurrence rate and better prognosis than the non-pCR group. Patients receiving chemo-immunotherapy as NAT had a higher pCR rate than those receiving chemotherapy alone.

KEYWORDS:

Stomach Neoplasms; Neoadjuvant Therapy; Pathological complete response; Recurrence; Immunotherapy

Citation:

Miao-Zhen Qiu. Characteristics and survival associated with pathological complete response following neoadjuvant treatment of locally advanced gastric cancer: a multicenter analysis in a real-world settin. Journal of Immunology 2024.