Comparison of Efficacy and Safety of Third-Line Treatments for Advanced Gastric Cancer: A Systematic Review With Bayesian Network Meta-Analysis

BackgroundAlthough various third-line treatments of advanced gastric cancer (AGC) significantly improved the overall survival, the optimal regimen has not been determined by now. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of multiple third-line treatments of AGC via integrated analysis and network meta-analysis (NMA) to provide valuable evidence for the optimal third-line systemic therapy for AGC.MethodsBy searching the databases of PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials from Jan 01, 2005 to Dec 31, 2020, we included phase II/III randomized clinical trials (RCTs) of the third-line treatments for AGC to perform NMA. The main outcomes for NMA were median overall survival (mOS), median progression-free survival (mPFS), disease control rate (DCR) and adverse events (AEs). We also included phase IB/II non-RCTs and II/III RCTs of the third-line immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) for integrated analysis for pooled mOS (POS), pooled mPFS (PPFS) and other outcomes.ResultsEight phase II/III RCTs and 2 ICIs-related phase IB/II non-RCTs were included for analysis, involving 9 treatment regimens and 3012 AGC patients. In terms of mOS, apatinib (hazard ratio [HR] 0.61, 95% credible interval [CrI] 0.48-0.78) and nivolumab (HR 0.62, 95% CrI 0.51-0.76) were the most effective treatments compared with placebo. Apatinib also significantly improved mPFS versus placebo (HR 0.38, 95% CrI 0.29-0.49). Nivolumab ranked first among all regimens for 1-year OS rate and achieved the best OS in patients with HER-2 positive tumor, patients with gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancer and patients without gastrectomy history. TAS-102 (OR 7.46, 95% CrI 4.61-12.51) was the most toxic treatment in terms of AEs of grade 3 and higher (≥3 AEs). Pembrolizumab was more likely to cause immune related adverse event. Finally, the POS, pooled 1-year OS rate, pooled ORR and PPFS of AGC patients treated with third-line ICIs were 5.1 months, 25%, 10% and 1.71 months respectively.ConclusionsApatinib and nivolumab are the most effective treatments for the third-line treatment of AGC in contrast to the third-line chemotherapy. For AGC patients with HER-2 positive tumor, patients with GEJ cancer and patients without gastrectomy history, ICIs could be the optimal third-line treatment choice.

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Efficacy and safety of taxane-monotherapy in advanced gastric cancer refractory to triplet chemotherapy with docetaxel, cisplatin, and S-1: A multicenter retrospective study.

Journal of Clinical Oncology ◽

10.1200/jco.2017.35.4_suppl.154 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 35 (4_suppl) ◽

pp. 154-154

Author(s):

Sadayuki Kawai ◽

Sakura Iizumi ◽

Atsuo Takashima ◽

Yukiya Narita ◽

Masahiro Tajika ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gastric Cancer ◽

Advanced Gastric Cancer ◽

Line Treatment ◽

Second Line ◽

Efficacy And Safety ◽

First Line ◽

The Third ◽

Third Line ◽

Ecog Ps ◽

Third Line Treatment

154 Background: While taxane-monotherapy following fluoropyrimidine plus platinum is recognized as the standard treatment strategy for advanced gastric cancer, triplet chemotherapy with docetaxel, cisplatin and S-1 (DCS) is another option for first-line therapy in Japan. However, efficacy of taxane after DCS therapy has not been sufficiently evaluated. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated the efficacy and safety of taxane-monotherapy after DCS between January 2010 and April 2015 for advanced gastric cancer. The taxane-monotherapy included weekly paclitaxel (PTX) (80 mg/m2, day 1, 8 and 15 of a 28-day cycle) and triweekly nab-PTX (260 mg/m2, day 1). Other selection criteria were: ECOG PS < 2; adequate organ function; no severe ascites; HER2-negative. Results: Thirty of 92 patients who had been treated with DCS received taxane-monotherapy. Fifteen and 15 patients received taxane-monotherapy as the second and third-line treatment, respectively. Patients characteristics of each group (2nd/3rd) were; median age: 64/62 (range 27-75/42-75); ECOG PS ≤ 1: 14/13; number of metastatic sites ≥ 2: 9/12; median taxane-free interval from first-line treatment: 1.6/3.4 (range 0.9-2.3/2.2-8.3) months; median total dose of prior DTX: 349/208 (range 39-844/141-685) mg/m2. Number of patients who received PTX/nab-PTX were 10/5 and 13/2 in the second and third line treatment. Median relative dose intensity of taxane was 96.4% (range 57.6-172.9%) in the second-line, 98.5% (44.0-166.8%) in the third-line group. Response rate and disease control rate were 0% and 37.5% in the second-line, and 0% and 38.5% in the third-line group. Median progression free survival and overall survival were 3.4 and 5.8 months in the second-line group, and 2.0 and 4.5 months in the third-line. Grade 3 or 4 neutropenia, anemia, and anorexia, occurred in 33%, 13% and 13% in the second-line group, and 6.7%, 13% and 6.7% in the third–line group, associated with no treatment related death. Conclusions: It is suggested that taxane-monotherapy has acceptable toxicities but insufficient efficacy in advanced gastric cancer patients after DCS therapy.

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