Gastric Cancer: Background and Clinical Evidence




© Springer International Publishing AG 2017
Theodore Hong and Prajnan Das (eds.)Radiation Therapy for Gastrointestinal Cancers10.1007/978-3-319-43115-4_5


5. Gastric Cancer: Background and Clinical Evidence



Christopher L. Hallemeier1 and Michael G. Haddock 


(1)
Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA

 



 

Michael G. Haddock




5.1 Epidemiology and Risk Factors






  • The United States in 2016, 26,370 new cases and 10,730 deaths [1]


  • Worldwide in 2012, 951,600 new cases and 723,100 deaths [2]


  • Large variation in incidence worldwide, highest Asia


  • Risk factors: age, male gender, atrophic gastritis, Helicobacter pylori infection, smoking, alcohol use, dietary factors (high salt, nitrates, red and processed meats), obesity, hereditary factors (<5 %; hereditary diffuse gastric cancer, Peutz-Jeghers syndrome, juvenile polyposis syndrome, Lynch syndrome), and prior abdominal radiation


5.2 Staging






  • EGD with biopsies and EUS


  • CT of chest, abdomen, and pelvis


  • PET/CT


  • Laparoscopy with peritoneal cytology


  • AJCC staging [3]


5.3 Prognostic Factors






  • Gender/age


  • Subtype (intestinal more favorable than diffuse)


  • Stage


  • Extent of resection (R0 vs. R1 vs. R2)


5.4 Molecular Biology






  • >90 % adenocarcinoma


  • Two distinct morphologic and molecular subtypes: intestinal and diffuse


  • Intestinal type:



    • Associated with H. pylori infection, dietary factors


    • More commonly well differentiated


    • Progressive accumulation of genetic alterations in oncogenes (K-ras) and tumor suppressor genes (p53, APC, TTF, CDKN1B)


    • More favorable prognosis


  • Diffuse type:



    • Clinically can present with “linitis plastica”


    • More commonly poorly differentiated


    • Most cases have loss of E-cadherin (CDH1 gene) expression


    • Worse prognosis


  • HER2 overexpression in ~20 %. More common in intestinal subtype and moderately/well-differentiated tumors


  • The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) identified four molecular subtypes: [4]



    • Epstein-Barr virus positive (9 %) – PIK3CA mutations, DNA hypermethylation, amplification of JAK2, PD-L1, and PD-L2


    • Microsatellite unstable (22 %) – hypermutation, MLH1 silencing


    • Genomically stable (20 %) – mutations in RHOA, fusions involving RHO-family GTPase, CDH-1. Enriched for diffuse histology


    • Chromosomal instability (50 %) – marked aneuploidy and focal amplification of receptor tyrosine kinases, RAS pathway activation, p53 mutations. Enriched for intestinal histology


5.5 Patterns of Failure






  • Gunderson reoperation series (US, no adjuvant therapy): Local-regional > peritoneal > distant metastases [5]


  • INT-0116 (US, D0-D1 dissection, no adjuvant therapy): Local-regional > distant metastases [6]


  • CLASSIC/ARTIST trials (Asia, D2-D3 dissection, adjuvant chemotherapy): Distant metastases > peritoneal > local-regional [7, 8]


5.6 Multidisciplinary Treatment






  • Early stage (Tis-T1, N0, M0)



    • Endoscopic resection (Tis or T1a and favorable features)


    • Gastrectomy + lymphadenectomy


  • Locally advanced (T2-T4 or N+, M0)



    • Neoadjuvant therapy* → gastrectomy + lymphadenectomy → adjuvant therapy*


    • Gastrectomy + lymphadenectomy → adjuvant therapy*


    • Chemotherapy ± chemoradiation (if not a surgical candidate)



      • *Chemotherapy ± radiotherapy


  • Metastatic (M1)



    • Palliative systemic therapy ± local therapy


5.7 Key Clinical Trials



5.7.1 Surgery






  • Italian trial of total vs. subtotal gastrectomy for distal tumors [9, 10]



    • Phase 3 RCT, resectable gastric cancer of distal 50 % of stomach (n = 624)


    • Total vs. subtotal gastrectomy (proximal clearance ≥ 6 cm) + D2 lymphadenectomy


    • No difference in survival, lower morbidity with subtotal gastrectomy


  • Dutch trial of D1 vs. D2 lymphadenectomy [11, 12]



    • Phase 3 RCT, resectable gastric cancer (n = 711)


    • Gastrectomy + D1 (perigastric LN) vs. D2 (perigastric + extended regional LN) lymphadenectomy


    • No difference in survival at 15 years median follow-up


    • D2 lymphadenectomy: ↑ perioperative morbidity/mortality, ↓ local-regional recurrence, ↓ cancer-specific mortality


    • Authors recommend spleen-preserving D2 resection at high-volume center


  • MRC trial of D1 vs. D2 lymphadenectomy



    • Phase 3 RCT, resectable gastric cancer (n = 400)


    • Gastrectomy + D1 lymphadenectomy vs. D2 lymphadenectomy


    • No difference in survival


    • D2 lymphadenectomy: ↑ perioperative morbidity/mortality


5.7.2 Postoperative Adjuvant Therapy




Oct 18, 2017 | Posted by in GASTROENTEROLOGY | Comments Off on Gastric Cancer: Background and Clinical Evidence

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