Background: The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer 22092-62092 STRASS trial failed to demonstrate the superiority of neoadjuvant radiotherapy (RT) over surgery alone in... Show moreBackground: The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer 22092-62092 STRASS trial failed to demonstrate the superiority of neoadjuvant radiotherapy (RT) over surgery alone in patients with retroperitoneal sarcoma. Therefore, an RT quality-assurance program was added to the study protocol to detect and correct RT deviations. The authors report results from the trial RT quality-assurance program and its potential effect on patient outcomes. Methods: To evaluate the effect of RT compliance on survival outcomes, a composite end point was created. It combined the information related to planning target volume coverage, target delineation, total dose received, and overall treatment time into 2 groups: non-RT-compliant (NRC) for patients who had unacceptable deviation(s) in any of the previous categories and RT-compliant (RC) otherwise. Abdominal recurrence-free survival (ARFS) and overall survival were compared between the 2 groups using a Cox proportional hazard model adjusted for known prognostic factors. Results: Thirty-six of 125 patients (28.8%) were classified as NRC, and the remaining 89 patients (71.2%) were classified as RC. The 3-year ARFS rate was 66.8% (95% confidence interval [CI], 55.8%-75.7%) and 49.8% (95% CI, 32.7%-64.8%) for the RC and NRC groups, respectively (adjusted hazard ratio, 2.32; 95% CI, 1.25-4.32; P = .008). Local recurrence after macroscopic complete resection occurred in 13 of 89 patients (14.6%) versus 2 of 36 patients (5.6%) in the RC and NRC groups, respectively. Conclusions: The current analysis suggests a significant benefit in terms of ARFS in favor of the RC group. This association did not translate into less local relapses after complete resection in the RC group. Multidisciplinary collaboration and review of cases are critical to avoid geographic misses, especially for rare tumors like retroperitoneal sarcoma. Show less
Background: Gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GIST) is commonly treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), but most patients ultimately develop secondary resistance. Cabozantinib, a multi... Show moreBackground: Gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GIST) is commonly treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), but most patients ultimately develop secondary resistance. Cabozantinib, a multi-targeted TKI inhibitor, has activity in patient-derived GIST mouse xenograft models and can overcome compensatory MET signalling occurring on TKI treatment. European Organisation for Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) 1317 'CaboGIST' assessed the safety and activity of cabozantinib in patients with GIST who had progressed on imatinib and sunitinib.Methods: In this multi-center, open label, single arm phase II study, eligible GIST patients received oral cabozantinib (60 mg) once daily. Primary end-point was the progression-free survival rate at 12 weeks assessed by the local investigator per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumours 1.1. If at least 21 of the first 41 eligible and evaluable patients were progression-free at week 12, the activity of cabozantinib was sufficient to warrant further exploration according to the A'Hern one-stage study design.Findings: A total of 50 eligible patients started treatment between 02/2017 and 08/2018, including four (8%) still continuing cabozantinib at clinical cut-off (09/2019). The number of 3-weekly treatment cycles ranged from 1 to 30. Among the first 41 eligible and evaluable patients, 24 were progression-free at week 12 (58.5%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 42.0 -74.0%). Among all 50 patients, 30 were progression-free at week 12 (60%, 95% CI 45 -74%). Seven patients achieved a partial response (14%, 95% CI 6-27%), and 34 had stable disease (68%, 95% CI 53-80%) as best response. Progression was seen in eight patients (16%, 95% CI 7-29%), and one was not evaluable. Disease control was achieved in 41 patients (82%, 95% CI 69-91%). Median progression-free survival was 5.5 months (95% CI 3.6-6.9). The most common adverse events were diarrhoea (76%), palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia syndrome (60%), fatigue (50%), hypertension (42%), weight loss (40%) and oral mucositis (30%), with 32 (64%) patients requiring dose reductions, 27 (54%) having treatment interruptions and no cabozantinib-related deaths observed.Interpretation: EORTC 1317 met its primary end-point, with 24/41 patients being progression free at week 12 of treatment. The objective response was 14% with an encouraging disease control rate of 82%. Results of this trial confirm preclinical findings and warrant further exploration of cabozantinib in GIST. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Show less
IMPORTANCE The association between quality of surgery and overall survival in patients affected by localized gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) is not completely understood.OBJECTIVE To assess... Show moreIMPORTANCE The association between quality of surgery and overall survival in patients affected by localized gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) is not completely understood.OBJECTIVE To assess the risk of death with and without imatinib according to microscopic margins status (R0/R1) using data from a randomized study on adjuvant imatinib.DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This is a post hoc observational study on patients included in the randomized, open-label, phase III trial, performed between December 2004 and October 2008. Median follow-up was 9.1 years (IQR, 8-10 years). The study was performed at 112 hospitals in 12 countries. Inclusion criteria were diagnosis of primary GIST, with intermediate or high risk of relapse; no evidence of residual disease after surgery; older than 18 years; and no prior malignancies or concurrent severe/uncontrolled medical conditions. Data were analyzed between July17, 2017, and March 1, 2020.INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized after surgery to either receive imatinib (400 mg/d) for 2 years or no adjuvant treatment. Randomization was stratified by center, risk category (high vs intermediate), tumor site (gastric vs other), and quality of surgery (R0 vs R1). Tumor rupture was included in the R1 category but also analyzed separately.MAN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Primary end point of this substudy was overall survival (OS), estimated using Kaplan-Meier method and compared between R0/R1 using Cox models adjusted for treatment and stratification factors.RESULTS A total of 908 patients were included; 51.4% were men (465) and 48.6% were women (440), and the median age was 59 years (range, 18-89 years). One hundred sixty-two (17.8%) had an R1 resection, and 97 of 162 (59.9%) had tumor rupture. There was a significant difference in OS for patients undergoing an R1 vs R0 resection, overall (hazard ratio [HR], 2.05; 95% CI, 1.45-2.89) and by treatment arm (HR, 2.65; 95% CI, 1.37-3.75 with adjuvant imatinib and HR. 1.86; 95% CI, 1.16-2.99 without adjuvant imatinib). When tumor rupture was excluded, this difference in OS between R1 and R0 resections disappeared (HR, 1.05; 95% CI, 0.54-2.01).CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE The difference in OS by quality of surgery with or without imatinib was associated with the presence of tumor rupture. When the latter was excluded, the presence of R1 margins was not associated with worse OS. Show less
