BACKGROUND

Adjuvant chemoradiotherapy does not represent the standard of care in patients with resected high-risk gastric cancer; however, results from phase 2 and randomized trials suggest improvement in overall survival. We assessed the feasibility and toxic effects of chemoradiotherapy as adjuvant treatment in locally advanced gastric cancer.

DESIGN

Pilot study.

SETTING

University hospital.

PATIENTS

Twenty-nine patients with T4N+ or any TN23 gastric cancer previously treated with potentially curative surgery were enrolled. All of the patients received combined adjuvant chemotherapy with FOLFOX-4 (ie, a combination of folinic acid [leucovorin], fluorouracil, and oxaliplatin [Eloxatin]) for 8 cycles and concomitant radiotherapy (45 Gy in 25 daily fractions over 5 weeks). Radiotherapy was begun after the first 2 cycles of FOLFOX-4, which was reduced by 25% during the period of concomitant radiotherapy.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Treatment toxic effects according to the National Cancer Institute-Common Toxicity Criteria classification, overall and disease-free survival rates, and identification of prognostic indicators.

RESULTS

All of the patients completed treatment. Severe hematologic and gastrointestinal toxic effects occurred in 10% and 33%, respectively. No acute hepatic or renal toxic effects were observed; 1 patient experienced severe neurotoxicity. Disease-free and overall survival rates at 1, 2, and 3 years were 79%, 35%, and 35% and 85%, 62.6%, and 50.1%, respectively, and were shown to be substantially better than those observed in untreated patients. Long-term outcome was related to TNM stage, basal serum tumor marker level, and, particularly, lymph node ratio.

CONCLUSION

A multimodal approach with FOLFOX-4 and radiotherapy is feasible and effective for the treatment of patients with resected high-risk gastric cancer.