Nadine Schulte

Gastric Cancer: New Drugs - New Strategies

Background: Gastric cancer is the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. There are large geographic variations in the incidence of these tumors, with 60% occurring in East Asia. For patients with resectable disease, surgery and perioperative treatment can be effective. For patients with advanced gastric cancer, chemotherapy regimens result in a median survival of 9-11 months. In general, the prognosis for advanced disease is poor and 5-year overall survival rates are around 15%. Combination therapies yield better survival rates, albeit with increased toxicity. Therefore, more effective and less toxic treatment regimens are needed. Summary: The molecular aberrations that characterize the different subgroups of gastric cancer have been used as therapeutic targets. However, the heterogeneity and complexity of gastric cancers is a major challenge for the development of effective targeted therapies. This review examines the main molecular targets in the treatment of gastric cancer, namely the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)/c-Met, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathways. Key Message: The molecular aberrations characteristic of gastric cancer are being explored for the development of targeted therapies, including the VEGF, HER2, HGF/c-Met, EGFR and PI3K/Akt signaling pathways. Practical Implications: Trastuzumab, an antibody which targets HER2, is the first approved targeted therapy for the treatment of gastric cancer. However, trastuzumab is only effective in HER2-positive tumors (about 10-20% of all gastric cancers). Ramucirumab, which targets the VEGF receptor 2, has yielded benefits with respect to overall survival in a phase III trial and is an effective treatment for advanced gastric cancer with approval in second-line treatment. Apatinib and rilotumumab are another two promising new agents currently under development.

Phase I study of imatinib, cisplatin and 5-fluoruracil or capecitabine in advanced esophageal and gastric adenocarcinoma

BackgroundDespite all benefit provided by established therapies prognosis of gastric cancer remains poor. Targeted inhibition of platelet derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR) by imatinib may influence tumor growth and amplify chemotherapeutic effects.MethodsThis phase I study evaluated dose limiting toxicity (DLT) of imatinib combinated with chemotherapy according to a 3-patient cohort dose-escalating design. Thirty-five patients received cisplatin (60 mg/m2 d1 q 3w)/ capecitabine (1250 mg/m2 bid d1-14 q 21) or cisplatin (50 mg/m2 d1 q 2w)/ 5-fluoruracil (2 g/m2 d1, q 1w). Imatinib was started d - 4 with dose escalation from 300 to 700 mg QD in 100 mg steps.ResultsAt imatinib dose level 1 (300mg) one DLT was observed, three more patients were enrolled without further DLT. At dose level 5 (700 mg) two gastric perforations occurred, so 600 mg imatinib emerged as the maximum tolerated dose. Major grade 3/4 toxicities were nausea (6%), anemia (6%) and fatigue (3%). Response evaluation revealed partial response in 27% and stable disease in 43% of the assessable patients.ConclusionsCombination of imatinib and chemotherapy is well tolerated. Response rates were not superior to those of standard therapy. Further investigations of a larger group of patients are required to confirm the amplification of chemotherapy effects by imatinib.Trial registrationEuropean Clinical Trials Database: Eudra-CT2006-005792-17 and Clinical Trials Database: NCT00601510

Outcome of Colorectal Cancer Patients Treated with Combination Bevacizumab Therapy: A Pooled Retrospective Analysis of Three European Cohorts from the Angiopredict Initiative

Background/Aims: This study is aimed at analyzing the survival rates and prognostic factors of stage IV colorectal cancer patients from 3 European cohorts undergoing combination chemotherapy with bevacizumab. Methods: Progression free-survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were analyzed in 172 patients using the Kaplan-Meier method and uni- and multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models. Results: The median PFS was 9.7 and the median OS 27.4 months. Patients treated at centers in Germany (n = 97), Ireland (n = 32), and The Netherlands (n = 43) showed a median PFS of 9.9, 9.2, and 9.7 months, OS of 34.0, 20.5, and 25.1 months, respectively. Patients >65 years had a significantly shorter PFS (9.5 vs. 9.8 months) but not OS (27.4 vs. 27.5 months) than younger patients. High tumor grade (G3/4) was associated with a shorter PFS, T4 classification with both shorter PFS and OS. Fluoropyrimidine (FP) chemotherapy backbones (doublets and single) had comparable outcomes, while patients not receiving FP backbones had a shorter PFS. In multivariable analysis, age and non-FP backbone were associated with inferior PFS, T4 classification and therapy line >2nd were significantly associated with poor PFS and OS. Conclusion: The observed survival rates confirm previous studies and demonstrate reproducible benefits of combination bevacizumab regimens. Classification T4, non-FP chemotherapy backbone, and age >65 were associated with inferior outcome.

Magenkarzinom beim alten und geriatrischen Patienten

Das Magenkarzinom tritt in hoherem Alter haufiger auf, so dass bei steigender Lebenserwartung die Behandlung des geriatrischen onkologischen Patienten zunehmend wichtig wird. Die aus Studien etablierten Konzepte reprasentieren haufig nicht die Besonderheiten im Alter. Anhand verschiedener Studien bei alteren Patienten sowie Subgruppenanalysen und gepoolten Analysen soll im folgenden Kapitel die Evidenz der Therapie beim Magenkarzinom fur altere Patienten genauer beleuchtet werden.

Epigenetic silencing of tumor suppressor candidate 3 confers adverse prognosis in early colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a biologically and clinically heterogeneous disease. Even though many recurrent genomic alterations have been identified that may characterize distinct subgroups, their biological impact and clinical significance as prognostic indicators remain to be defined. The tumor suppressor candidate-3 (TUSC3/N33) locates to a genomic region frequently deleted or silenced in cancers. TUSC3 is a subunit of the oligosaccharyltransferase (OST) complex at the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) which catalyzes bulk N-glycosylation of membrane and secretory proteins. However, the consequences of TUSC3 loss are largely unknown. Thus, the aim of the study was to characterize the functional and clinical relevance of TUSC3 expression in CRC patients’ tissues (n=306 cases) and cell lines. TUSC3 mRNA expression was silenced by promoter methylation in 85 % of benign adenomas (n=46 cases) and 35 % of CRCs (n =74 cases). Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) was selected as one exemplary ER-derived target protein of TUSC3-mediated posttranslational modification. We found that TUSC3 inhibited EGFR-signaling and promoted apoptosis in human CRC cells, whereas TUSC3 siRNA knock-down increased EGFR-signaling. Accordingly, in stage I/II node negative CRC patients (n=156 cases) loss of TUSC3 protein expression was associated with poor overall survival. In sum, our data suggested that epigenetic silencing of TUSC3 may be useful as a molecular marker for progression of early CRC.