Safety and efficacy of trastuzumab administered as a 30-min infusion in patients with HER2-positive advanced gastric cancer.

PURPOSE

To investigate the safety and efficacy of 30-min maintenance infusions of trastuzumab in advanced gastric cancer positive for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2).

METHODS

This was a retrospective study conducted across five Korean hospitals in patients with HER2-positive gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma treated with first-line, 3-weekly trastuzumab plus chemotherapy. The first dose of trastuzumab (8 mg/kg) was administered as a 90-min infusion, with all subsequent maintenance infusions (6 mg/kg) given over 30 min. The primary aim was to investigate infusion-related reactions and cardiac events with 30-min infusions of trastuzumab. Objective response rate, progression-free survival, and overall survival were secondary endpoints.

RESULTS

The study included 128 patients (efficacy population), of whom 123 received both induction and maintenance infusions and formed the safety population. The median age was 63 years; 80% were presenting for the first time with metastatic disease, and 94% were treated with trastuzumab plus capecitabine/cisplatin. Infusion-related reactions were observed in 32 of 123 patients (26%). There were no cardiac events. The most frequent adverse events were anorexia and nausea, followed by vomiting, fatigue, mucositis, sensory neuropathy, and hand-foot syndrome. Most events were grade 1-2 and were manageable. No patient discontinued study treatment due to adverse events. The objective response rate was 63%, and included 6 complete responses.

CONCLUSIONS

Trastuzumab 30-min maintenance infusions were well tolerated with a good safety profile, and resulted in sustained efficacy in patients with HER2-positive advanced gastric cancer.