Authors: Anant Ramaswamy, Prabhat Ghanshyam Bhargava, Biswajit Dubashi, Akhil Kapoor, Sujay Srinivas, Omshree Shetty, Rajiv Kumar Kaushal, Aekta Shah, Vanita Noronha, Amit Joshi, Nandini Sharrel Menon, Chaitali Nashikkar, Anuj Gupta, Bal Krishna Mishra, Smita Kayal, Ramesh Ananthakrishnan, Suman Kumar, Prasanth Ganesan, Kumar Prabhash, Vikas S. Ostwal
Published: 2024-01-22
DOI: 10.1200/jco.2024.42.3_suppl.lba248
Source: Full article
LBA248 Background: The choice of optimal chemotherapy in advanced (unresectable/metastatic) gastroesophageal junction and gastric (GEJ/G) adenocarcinomas remains undecided with regard to the addition of docetaxel to a FOLFOX/CAPOX backbone in improving outcomes with equipoise with regard to the optimal duration of chemotherapy as well. Methods: The DOC GC study is a multicentric open-label, randomized controlled phase III trial, in adults ≥18 years with advanced GEJ/G adenocarcinoma and adequate end-organ function. Patients were randomized 1:1 to one of two arms: Arm A - modified CAPOX (3 weekly) or modified FOLFOX-7 (2 weekly) for a maximum of 6 months and then observation OR Arm B: modified FLOT (5-FU/leucovorin /Oxaliplatin/Docetaxel) or DOX (docetaxel/oxaliplatin/capecitabine) every 2 weeks for a maximum of four months followed by Docetaxel (60mg/m2) every 3 weeks till disease progression, unacceptable toxicity, or patient's decision to withdraw. The primary endpoint of the study is Overall survival (OS), as calculated by Kaplan-Meier method, while key secondary endpoints include Progression-free survival, and adverse event rates. Results: Of the 324 patients randomized between July 2020 and November 2022, 305 patients were evaluable for analysis (Arm A: 156; Arm B: 149). With a median follow-up time of 19.2 months (95% CI: 16.5 – 21.9) for the entire cohort, the median OS was 10.1 months (95%: 9.2-10.9) in Arm A and 8.9 months (95% CI: 7.3-10.5) in arm B and this difference was not statistically significant [p=0.70]. There were no statistical differences in median PFS between the two arms [Arm A: 7.1 months (95% CI: 6.1-8.1); Arm B: 6.2 months (95% CI: 5.7 – 6.8); p=0.39]. An increased proportion of grade 3/4 neutropenia (21% vs. 5.1%; p<0.001) was seen in patients in Arm B, with other treatment related side effects being comparable between the two arms. A greater proportion of patients in Arm A tended to receive second line therapy compared to Arm B (38% vs. 26%; p=0.07). Conclusions: The addition of docetaxel to a doublet regimen comprising 5-fluorouracil/capecitabine and oxaliplatin did not improve overall survival in patients with advanced GEJ/G cancers. Continuing chemotherapy beyond six months also does not appear to improve survival in this group of cancers. Clinical trial information: CTRI/2020/03/023944 .