Objective To assess the predictive and prognostic role of the alteration of serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA),squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCC-Ag) and cytokeratin 19 fragment (CYFRA21-1) during chemotherapy in patients with advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).Methods The serum levels of CEA,CYFRA21-1 and SCC-Ag were measured in 50 patients with advanced ESCC at baseline and after first line chemotherapy.The data was correlated with objective efficacy and overall survival.To evaluate the role of tumor marker change in predicting response to therapy,receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed.Results CEA,SCC-Ag and CYFRA21-1 increased higher than the cutoffs in 22.0 %,34.0 %,and 44.0 % of tested patients,respectively.Statistically significant correlations were observed between CYFRA21-1 and SCC responses and objective efficacy evaluated by RECIST criteria (Z =3.181,2.389; P = 0.001,0.017).Based on the ROG curve analysis,a post treatment 32 % and 38 % increase in serum concentration was used as cut-off level for defining CYFRA21-1 and SCC-Ag change,respectively.When the cut-off levels were used to predict chemotherapy efficacy,the accuracy for CYFRA21-1 and SCC-Ag were 76 % and 70 %.In the univariate survival analysis,a statistically significant prognostic impact on survival from the change of CYFRA21-1 and SCC-Ag was observed.Conclusion CYFRA21-1 and SCC-Ag are useful for diagnosis,predicting chemotherapy objective efficacy and prognosis in advanced ESCC.

Objective:Influence of clinicopathological characteristics and different therapy patterns on the overall survival of patients with gastric cancer with bone metastasis was investigated. Methods:A total of 146 gastric cancer patients with bone metastasis were enrolled from December 1996 to December 2014. Data of clinicopathological characteristics, treatment methods, and overall survival were collected. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed using log-rank tests and Cox's proportional hazard model, respec-tively. Results:A total of 51 (34.9%) patients had synchronous metastasis, while 95 (65.1%) had metachronous metastasis. Moreover, 35 (24.0%) patients only had bone metastasis, while 111 (76.0%) patients were complicated with other organ metastases, such as liver (30.0%), peritoneal (24.0%), lung (15.1%), and bone marrow (7.5%). After diagnosis of bone metastasis, bisphosphonates, bone radio-therapy and bone surgery were applied in 99 (67.8%), 34 (23.3%), and 5 (3.4%) patients, respectively. Additionally, 96 (65.6%) patients received palliative chemotherapy. The median overall survival was 5.8 months (95%CI:4.284-7.316). Multivariate analysis revealed that KPS<80 (P=0.030), bone marrow metastasis (P<0.001), elevated serum CA199 (P<0.001), and without palliative chemotherapy (P<0.001) were independent poor prognostic factors. Conclusion:The outcome of gastric cancer with bone metastasis is very poor, espe-cially in patients with bone marrow metastasis, worse KPS, and elevated CA199. Palliative chemotherapy may be beneficial for the sur-vival of these patients.

Objective To investigate the influences of survivin down-regulation on cell G2/M phase arrest,apeptosis and sensitivity to carbon ion irradiation. Methods Small interfering RNA (siRNA) targeting survivin mRNA was designed, in vitro chemo-synthesized and transfected into SMMC-7721 cells. Survivin mRNA expression in SMMC-7721 cells was measured by real-time PCR, and the apeptotic rates by Annexin-FTTC at 24 and 48 h after transfection. Cell G2/M phase arrest after transfection was assessed with flow eytometry as well. Cellular sensitivity to high-LET carbon ions was determined by means of colony-forming assay. Results The expressions of survivin at mRNA level were down-regulated to be 59% and 39% in relation to the non-treated cells at 24 and 48 h after siRNA transfeetion, respectively. G2/M phase arrest in SMMC-7721 cells at 24 h after transfection was observed while much more obvious at 48 h. The apeptotic rate of SMMC-7721 cells was 21.41 % at48 h after survivin siRNA transfection, which was significantly higher than that of the cells transfected with negative siRNA. Moreover, a decreased clonogenic survival in siRNA treated group was shown. Conclusion Down-regulation of survivin gene expression in SMMC-7721 cells by siRNA could effectively induce cell apeptosis and G2/M phase arrest, and enhance the cellular radiosensitivity to high-LET heavy ions.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the feasibility of imatinib reintroduction in gastrointestinal stromal tumor(GIST) with high recurrence risk after imatinib adjuvant therapy failure.

METHODSClinical and follow-up data of 24 recurrent GIST patients with high recurrence risk receiving imatinib standard dose reintroduction(400 mg/d or 600 mg/d) after stopping imatinib adjuvant treatment more than 3 months in Department of GI Oncology of Peking University Cancer Hospital from August 2005 to January 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. The objective response rate(ORR), relapse-free survival(RFS) of imatinib reintroduction were evaluated and the difference of efficacy in patients receiving different imatinib adjuvant therapy duration were compared.

RESULTSOf 24 patients, 21 were male and 3 were female. The median age was 53 years(39-72 years). Mutation detection of tumor tissues before imatinib therapy showed 20 patients had c-Kit exon 11 mutation,3 patients exon 9 mutation and 1 patient c-Kit/PDGFRA wild type mutation. The median recurrence time was 14 months in all the patients (95%CI:7.9-20.0) and in those patients receiving imatinib adjuvant therapy for 1 or 2 years (9 patients in each group, 95%CI:11.1-16.9 and 8.2-19.8 respectively). The median recurrence time of 3 patients receiving imatinib adjuvant therapy for 3 years was 24, 41 and 54 months respectively. Of 2 patients receiving imatinib adjuvant therapy for 5 years, the median recurrence time was 4 and 18 months. Only one patient received imatinib adjuvant therapy for 6 years, and the recurrence time was 6 months. Twenty patients with exon 11 mutation and 1 patient with wide type received imatinib treatment at a dose of 400 mg daily, and 3 patients with exon 9 mutation received the dosage of 600 mg per day. Among the patients receiving imatinib reintroduction, 11 patients(45.8%) got partial response(PR), 12 patients(50.0%) had stable disease and 1 patient had progression disease. The response rate in patients receiving imatinib adjuvant therapy for 1 year(6/9, 67%) was significantly higher than that in patients receiving adjuvant therapy for ≥2 years(3/15, 20%)(P=0.036). The median progression-free survival (PFS) of imatinib reintroduction was 31 months in all the patients(95%CI:23.6-38.4). The median PFS in patients receiving imatinib adjuvant therapy for 1 year(9 cases), 2 years (9 cases) and ≥3 years (6 cases) was 50 months(95%CI:27.3-72.7), 26 months(95%CI:10.7-41.3) and fall short of median PFS. No significant difference was observed among three groups(P=0.295).

CONCLUSIONSImatinib reintroduction is still effective to GIST after imatinib adjuvant therapy failure. The different imatinib adjuvant therapy duration can influence the benefit of imatinib reintroduction.

Adult ; Aged ; Antineoplastic Agents ; therapeutic use ; Benzamides ; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Disease-Free Survival ; Exons ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors ; drug therapy ; genetics ; Humans ; Imatinib Mesylate ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mutation ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Piperazines ; Pyrimidines ; Retrospective Studies

OBJECTIVETo examine the correlation between serum human epithelial growth factor receptor 2 extracellular domain (HER2 ECD) and circulating tumor cells (CTC), as well as the dynamic variation of HER2 ECD and its correlation to the therapeutic efficacy.

METHODSFifty-three advanced gastric cancer (AGC) patients who treated in Peking University Cancer Hospital and ever enrolled into CTC study (ClinicalTrial gov. ID: NCT01625702) were retrospectively included in this study.

INCLUSION CRITERIAthe patients were histologically confirmed as locally advanced or recurrent and/or metastatic adencarcinoma; they received two or more cycles of fluorouracil-based chemotherapy or combination targeted therapy; serum CTC was counted before and after therapy; the clinical response was evaluated every 2 cycles of treatment by the presence of at least one measurable lesion according to RECIST version 1.1 criteria. This study was approved by Ethics Committee of Peking University Cancer Hospital, and informed consents were signed by patients. The sera before and after two cycles of treatment were collected for CTC enumeration and HER2 ECD detection, in which the levels of HER2 ECD were measured by chemiluminescence immunoassays method. The positive threshold value of HER2 ECD and CTC number were ≥15 μg/L and ≥3 CTCs/7.5 ml respectively. The progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were compared among different groups using Log-rank tests.

RESULTSIn 53 enrolled patients, 39 were histologically identified as negative HER2, 9 as positive HER2 and another 5 cases were unknown. All the patients received fluorouracil-based chemotherapy, and 9 positive HER2 patients received combined anti-HER2 targeted therapy. Before therapy, the median HER2 ECD concentration of 53 cases was 10.45 (8.0 to 83.2) μg/L. Seven patients exhibited positive HER2 ECD levels, in whom 4 were histologically HER2 positive, but 3 were histologically HER2 negative. The median CTC number of 53 cases was 2 (0 to 668) CTCs/7.5 ml, and the positive rate of CTC was 47.2%(25/53). Following 2 cycles of therapy, a total of 10 histologically HER2 negative patients exhibited positive HER2 ECD levels, in whom 2 also possessed positive HER2 ECD levels, 83.3 μg/L and 46.9 μg/L before therapy, and 22.4 μg/L and 20.4 μg/L after therapy respectively, whereas another 8 patients (10.3 to 14.5 μg/L before therapy) acquired the elevated expression of HER2 ECD following therapy (15.1 to 19.5 μg/L). It seems that the increased level of HER2 ECD after therapy was, though not statistically significant, correlated to low number of CTCs. In histologically HER2 negative patients, pretherapeutic HER2 ECD level (positive vs. negative) was not significantly correlated to PFS (7.6 months vs. 4.4 months, P=0.328) and OS (13.6 months vs. 10.9 months, P=0.679). However, in histologically HER2 positive patients, patients with positive HER2 ECD level before therapy exhibited longer PFS (10.7 months vs. 4.2 months, P=0.025) and OS (16.5 months vs. 8.9 months, P=0.015) compared to those with negative HER2 ECD level. Additionally, CTC number was significantly correlated to prognosis in histologically HER2 negative patients. Patients with positive pretherapeutic CTC number showed longer PFS (5.3 months vs. 3.3 months, P=0.049) and OS (14.3 months vs. 7.6 months, P=0.001) as well. While in histologically HER2 positive patients, CTC number was not obviously correlated to the PFS and OS. In above 8 negative HER2 patients acquiring elevated expression of HER2 ECD following therapy, the increased HER2 ECD level was not correlated to PFS and OS (all P>0.05). In 9 histologically HER2 positive patients, 4 patients who exhibited decreased HER2 ECD level and reduced or constant CTC number had longer PFS (7.5 to 15.3 months) and OS (11.0 to 26.3 months) compared with those 2 patients who suffered from acquired HER2 ECD level following therapy (PFS 3.0 to 4.8 months and OS 7.3 to 8.6 months).

CONCLUSIONSIn histologically HER2 positive patients, increased pretherapeutic HER2 ECD level predicts better prognosis. The acquired elevated HER2 ECD level following therapy is correlated to inefficient therapeutic response. The acquirement of elevated HER2 ECD level can also be found in histologically HER2 negative patients, which may be correlated to the corresponding variation of CTC number.

Objective: To explore the significance of next-generation sequencing for the screening of high-risk hereditary gastrointesti-nal cancer patients and the value of high-risk factors in screening. Methods: Twenty-five hereditary high-risk gastrointestinal cancer pa-tients from March 2016 to April 2016 in Peking University Cancer Hospital were enrolled. They received detection of 42 hereditary can-cer syndrome related genes by next-generation sequencing. Results: Out of 25 patients enrolled, 24% (6/25) patients had pathological germline mutations. The expression of mismatch repair protein was absent in 50% (3/6) patients. There were 83% (5/6) patients with family history of malignant tumors and were diagnosed when younger than 50 years. Six patients had hereditary cancer syndrome re-lated gene mutation, 1 patient had MYH gene missense mutation, 1 patient had APC gene deletion mutation, 4 patients had heredi-tary colorectal cancer related gene mutation, including MLH1, MLH3, and TGFBR2 germline missense mutations as well as MSH6 non-sense mutation. Conclusions: Out of 25 patients with high-risk factors of hereditary gastrointestinal cancer, 6 (24%) had pathological germline mutations. Given the high frequency and wide spectrum of mutations, the application of next-generation sequencing for screening of hereditary high-risk gastrointestinal cancer patients has the clinical value for improving the positive rate of diagnosis.

Purpose: The human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is an established therapeutic target for various kinds of solid tumors. HER2 amplification occurs in approximately 1% to 6% of colorectal cancer. In this study, we aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of trastuzumab in combination with chemotherapy in HER2-positive metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). Materials and Methods: An open-label, phase II trial (Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT03185988) was designed to evaluate the antitumor activity of trastuzumab and chemotherapy in HER2-positive digestive cancers excluding gastric cancer in 2017. Patients from this trial with HER2-positive, KRAS/BRAF wild-type, unresectable mCRC were analyzed in this manuscript. Eligible patients were treated with trastuzumab (8 mg/kg loading dose and then 6 mg/kg every 3 weeks) and irinotecan (120 mg/m2 days 1 and 8 every 3 weeks). The primary endpoint was the objective response rate. Results: Twenty-one HER2-positive mCRC patients were enrolled in this study. Seven patients (33.3%) achieved an objective res-ponse, and 11 patients (52.4%) had stable disease as their best response. The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 4.3 months (95% confidence interval, 2.7 to 5.9). Four of the 21 patients (19.0%) had grade 3 adverse events, including leukopenia, neutropenia, urinary tract infection, and diarrhea. No treatment-related death was reported. Exploratory analyses revealed that high tumor tissue HER2 copy number was associated with better therapeutic response and PFS. Alterations in the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway, HER2 gene, phosphoinositide 3-kinase/AKT pathway, and cell cycle control genes were potential drivers of trastuzumab resistance in mCRC. Conclusion Trastuzumab combined with chemotherapy is a potentially effective and well-tolerated therapeutic regimen in mCRC with a high HER2 copy number.

Objective: To evaluate the preliminary efficacy and safety of the 5-fluorouracil/leucovorin, irinotecan, and oxaliplatin (FOLF-OXIRI) and capecitabine, irinotecan, and oxaliplatin (CAPIRINOX) regimens as first-line therapy for unresectable advanced colorectal cancer. Methods: Between January 2013 and November 2018, 73 patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) were analyzed. All patients received first-line chemotherapy. Of them, 45 patients were administered FOLFOXIRI, and the remaining 28 patients were ad-ministered CAPIRINOX. The clinical outcomes and safety profiles were evaluated according to the objective response rate (ORR), con-version resection rate, and adverse effects. Results: The ORR, median progression-free survival (mPFS), and R0 resection rate in the FOLFOXIRI group were not statistically different from those in the CAPIRINOX group (60% vs. 57.1%, 7.7 months vs. 9.6 months, 24.4% vs . 17.9% , respectively; P>0.05). No treatment-related deaths occurred. The major adverse events were leukopenia, neutropenia, fa-tigue, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, alopecia, aspartate aminotransferase/alanine aminotransferase elevation, and neurotoxicity. The to-tal rate of grade 3/4 adverse events in the FOLFOXIRI group was 33.3% (15/45), while the total rate of grade 3/4 adverse events in the CAPIRINOX group was 46.4% (13/28). Toxicities between the two groups were not statistically significant (P=0.263). Conclusions: Both the FOLFOXIRI and CAPIRINOX regimens are effective as first-line treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer. The triple-agent chemo-therapy was associated with good efficacy and tolerable toxicity.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the efficacy and safety of trastuzumab combined with chemotherapy in the treatment for HER-2-positive chemo-refractory advanced gastric or gastro-esophageal junction adenocarcinoma.

METHODSTwenty consecutive cases of chemo-refractory advanced gastric or gastro-esophageal junction adenocarcinoma treated in Peking University Cancer Hospital between 2009 June and 2013 August were included in this study. The patients with adenocarcinoma were previously confirmed and were eligible if their tumor showed overexpression of HER-2+++ by immunohistochemistry or HER-2 gene amplification-positive by FISH, and if they failed to at least one previous chemotherapy. Response and toxicities were evaluated with RECIST 1.0 and CTC AE 3.0 criteria.

RESULTSThe twenty patients received trastuzumab plus second- or later-line chemotherapy, consisting of nine platinum with fluoropyrimidines, five paclitaxel with fluoropyrimidines, three fluoropyrimidines monotherapy, two irinotecan monotherapy, and one docetaxel monotherapy. In these 20 cases, 3 PR (15.0%) and 10 SD (50.0%) were achieved, with a disease control rate of 65.0%. The median PFS was 6.1 months (95%CI 3.0-9.2) and median OS was 11.1 months (95%CI 8.4-13.7). The median cycle number of Trastuzumab administration was 6.5. The patients treated with Trastuzumab ≥ 6 times had a median OS of 13.8 months, significantly longer than that of 9.5 months in the patients treated <6 times (P < 0.001). The patients treated with Trastuzumab ≥ 6 times had a median PFS of 7.8 months, significantly longer than that of 3.7 months in patients treated <6 times (P = 0.029). Among the 20 cases, loss of appetite (13 cases of grade 1-2), neutropenia (12 cases of grade 1-2 and 3 cases of grade 3-4) and fatigue (9 cases of grade 1-2 and 3 cases of grade 3-4) were the most frequent adverse events. No cardiac events including asymptomatic decreases in LVEF ≥ 10% and no treatment-related death were recorded.

CONCLUSIONSCombination of trastuzumab with chemotherapy is effective and safe in patients with HER2-positive advanced chemo-refractory gastric or gastro-esophageal junction adenocarninoma. However, prospective studies are warranted to further confirm its efficacy and safety.

Adenocarcinoma ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; secondary ; surgery ; Adult ; Aged ; Anorexia ; chemically induced ; Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Camptothecin ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; analogs & derivatives ; Cisplatin ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; Disease Progression ; Disease-Free Survival ; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm ; Esophagogastric Junction ; Fatigue ; chemically induced ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; secondary ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neutropenia ; chemically induced ; Paclitaxel ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; Pyrimidines ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; Receptor, ErbB-2 ; metabolism ; Remission Induction ; Retrospective Studies ; Stomach Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; secondary ; surgery ; Survival Rate ; Trastuzumab

Objective: To investigate the efficacy and safety of the new investigational drug pegylated interferon α-2b (Peg-IFN-α-2b) (Y shape, 40 kD) injection (180 µg/week) combined with ribavirin in the treatment of patients with genotype 1/6 chronic hepatitis C (CHC), with standard-dose Peg-IFN-α-2a combined with ribavirin as a positive control. Methods: A multicenter, randomized, open-label, and positive-controlled phase III clinical trial was performed. Eligible patients with genotype 1/6 CHC were screened out and randomly divided into Peg-IFN-α-2b(Y shape, 40kD) group and Peg-IFN-α-2a group at a ratio of 2:1. The patients in both groups were given oral ribavirin for 48 weeks in addition and then followed up for 24 weeks after drug withdrawal. Abbott Real Time HCV Genotype II was used to determine HCV genotype, and Cobas TaqMan quantitative real-time PCR was used to measure HCV RNA level at 0, 4, 12, 24, 48, and 72 weeks. Adverse events were recorded in detail. The primary efficacy endpoint was sustained virological response (SVR), and a non-inferiority test was also performed. Results: A total of 561 patients with genotype 1/6 CHC were enrolled, among whom 529 received treatment; 90.9% of these patients had genotype 1 CHC. The data of the full analysis set showed that SVR rate was 69.80% (95% CI 65.00%-74.60%) in the trial group and 74.16% (95% CI 67.73%-80.59%) in the control group (P = 0.297 0). The data of the per protocol set (PPS) showed that SVR rate was 80.63% (95% CI 76.04%-85.23%) in the trial group and 81.33% (95% CI 75.10%-87.57%) in the control group (P = 0.849 8), and the 95% CI of rate difference conformed to the non-inferiority standard. The analysis of the PPS population showed that of all subjects, 47.9% achieved rapid virologic response, with a positive predictive value of 93.8%. The incidence rate of adverse events was 96.30% in the trial group and 94.94% in the control group, and the incidence rate of serious adverse events was 5.13% in the trail group and 5.06% in the control group. Conclusion In the regimen of Peg-IFN-α combined with ribavirin for the treatment of genotype 1/6 CHC, the new investigational drug Peg-IFN-α-2b(Y shape, 40 kD) has comparable clinical effect and safety to the control drug Peg-IFN-α-2a.