Postoperative Chemoradiotherapy Combined with Epirubicin-Based Triplet Chemotherapy for Locally Advanced Adenocarcinoma of the Stomach or Gastroesophageal Junction

BACKGROUND: Due to low tolerance to chemotherapy, the maximum number of cycles of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy is 4 in adjuvant gastric clinical trials. The aim of this study is to retrospectively evaluate the safety and efficacy of adjuvant epirubicin-based triplet chemotherapy and radiotherapy in the treatment of resected locally advanced stomach or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: From January 2004 to July 2008, ninety-seven consecutive gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma patients in stages T3–4/N+ were treated with postoperative radiotherapy and chemotherapy. The recommended treatment plan was radical resection followed by 1–2 cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT), postoperative chemoradiotherapy (CRT), and, finally, 4–5 cycles of ACT. The patients were classified into two groups depending on the number of cycles of ACT: group 1 received 4–6 cycles (n = 59), and group 2 received 0–3 cycles (n = 38). The detailed grouping is as follows: RT alone, 2; RT and CT, 18; concurrent RTCT and CT, 41; and CRT, 36. Of the 97 patients, 77 patients received concurrent therapy (CRT, (5-fluorouracil or capecitabine), and 20 received radiotherapy alone because of patient refusal (n = 15) or treatment toxicity (n = 5). After a median follow-up of 44 months, the 3-year disease free survival(DFS) and overall survival (OS) were 66.5% and 69.5% for group 1 and 45.5% and 50% for group 2, respectively (p = 0.005 and p = 0.024). Multivariate analysis revealed that 4–6 cycles of ACT, lymphovascular invasion, or peritoneal metastasis were independent prognostic factors for disease-free survival or overall survival (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This study demonstrates that concurrent chemoradiation with adjuvant epirubicin-based triplet chemotherapy is feasible and tolerable for gastric or gastroesophageal junction carcinoma patients. Patients can benefit from more cycles of ACT.