Locally advanced gastric cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy: Epirubicin, oxaliplatin, and capecitabine (EOX).

136 Background: Gastric cancer is a worldwide common malignant disease with a high mortality rate. Adjuvant chemotherapy did not result in a survival advantage in Caucasian populations. Therapeutic chemotherapy options consist of either monotherapy or of polychemotherapy and have been applied as neoadjuvant chemotherapy with combinations of epirubicin, cyclophosphamide and 5-fluorouracil or capecitabine as well as cisplatin or oxaliplatin. The aim of this retrospective analysis was to investigate the use of the EOX regimen in the neoadjuvant setting which had shown activity in advanced gastric cancer. Methods: 23 patients (pts) (median age: 70, range 36-85, years; 16 pts >65 years) with locally advanced adenocarcinoma of the upper GI-tract received 3 courses of preoperative chemotherapy with epirubicin 50 mg/m2, day1, oxaliplatin 130 mg/m2, day 1, and capecitabine 2,000 mg/m2, days 1-14, of a 3-week cycle. Toxicity was assessed by CTC (Common Toxicity Criteria) after every cycle. Progression free survival (PFS) was defined as time from surgery to disease progression assessed by PET-CT which was performed at diagnosis and after 3 cycles chemotherapy. Results: 20 pts completed all three planned cycles of preoperative chemotherapy, 2 pts received only 1 cycle because of rapid tumor progression and 1 pt. is currently still on treatment. 16 pts. underwent surgery with curative resection with 2 pCRs on pathological review. 6 pts. remained inoperable despite chemotherapy and 1 pt is currently scheduled for surgery. After surgery, 2 pts. died after a median of 9 months (8-10). 4 pts. died without surgery due to disease progression. After a median follow-up of eight months (range 5-26), median PFS and overall survival was not reached yet. In 2 pts., grade 3-4 toxicities including nausea, diarrhea and hand-foot syndrome and one non-life-threatening pulmonary embolism occurred. Conclusions: In summary, EOX is a well tolerated, safe, and efficacious neoadjuvant treatment in also elderly patients with locally advanced adenocarcinoma of the upper GI-tract. However, more studies with a larger population are needed to corroborate the current results of this promising treatment schedule. [Table: see text]