Is there a role for treatment-oriented surgery in liver metastases from gastric cancer?

Long-term survival after multidisciplinary treatments for HER2-positive advanced gastric cancer with multiple liver and lung metastases

BACKGROUND

Trastuzumab-based chemotherapy is a standard treatment regimen for human epithelial growth factor 2 (HER2)-positive gastric cancer. This is a case of a patient who has survived 12 years after being diagnosed with advanced gastric cancer with multiple liver and lung metastases.

CASE PRESENTATION

A woman in her 70s underwent total gastrectomy, cholecystectomy, and left hepatic lobectomy for gastric cancer with liver metastasis. One month after the surgery, multiple liver metastases appeared. After two courses of S-1 + CDDP chemotherapy, the liver metastases disappeared, and new lung metastases occurred. Because the primary tumor was HER2 positive, S-1 + CDDP + trastuzumab chemotherapy was performed. After one course of chemotherapy, the blood test showed pancytopenia, and CDDP was discontinued. S-1 + trastuzumab chemotherapy was then initiated, and as a result, the lung metastases disappeared. The patient is alive without recurrence 12 years after the surgery.

CONCLUSIONS

We encountered a case of long-term survival after multidisciplinary treatments for HER2-positive advanced gastric cancer with multiple liver and lung metastases.

Effect of multimodal chemotherapy on survival of gastric cancer with liver metastasis – a population based analysis

Objectives

Limited efforts have been made to evaluate the effect of multimodal chemotherapy on the survival of gastric cancer patients with liver metastases (LMGC). This study aimed to identify prognostic factors in LMGC patients and the superiority of multimodal chemotherapy with respect to overall survival (OS) in these patients.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 1298 patients with M1 stage disease between January 2012 and December 2020. The effects of clinicopathological variables and preoperative chemotherapy (PECT), postoperative chemotherapy (POCT), and palliative chemotherapy on survival in patients with liver metastases (LM group) and non-liver metastases (non-LM group) were compared.

Results

Of the 1298 patients analysed, 546 (42.06%) were in the LM group and 752 (57.94%) were in the non-LM group. The median (interquartile range) age was 60 (51–66) years. The 1-year, 3-year and 5-year overall survival (OS) rates in the LM group were 29.3%, 13.9%, and 9.2%, respectively, and those in the non-LM group were. 38.2%, 17.4%, and 10.0%, respectively (P < 0.05, > 0.05, and > 0.05, respectively.) The Cox proportional hazards model revealed that palliative chemotherapy was a significant independent prognostic factor in both the LM and non-LM groups. Age ≥55 years, N stage, and Lauren classification were also independent predictors of OS in the LM group (P < 0.05). Palliative chemotherapy and POCT were associated with improved OS compared with PECT in the LM group (26.3% vs. 36.4% vs. 25.0%, P < 0.001).

Conclusion

LMGC patients had a worse prognosis than non- LMGC. Number of metastatic sites more than 1, liver and other metastatic sites, no CT treatment and HER2-negative had a poor prognosis. LMGC patient may benefit more from palliative chemotherapy and POCT than from PECT. Further well-designed, prospective studies are needed to validate these findings.

Safety and Efficacy of Simultaneous Resection of Gastric Carcinoma and Synchronous Liver Metastasis-A Western Center Experience

Background and objectives: Gastric cancer (GC) is often diagnosed in the metastatic stage. Palliative systemic therapy is still considered the gold standard, even for patients with resectable oligometastatic disease. The aim of the current study is to assess the potential benefit of up-front gastric and liver resection in patients with synchronous resectable liver-only metastases from GC (LMGC) in a Western population. Materials and Methods: All patients with GC and synchronous LMGC who underwent gastric resection with or without simultaneous resection of LMs between January 1997 and December 2016 were selected from the institutional records. Those with T4b primary tumors or with unresectable or more than three LMs were excluded from the analysis. All patients who underwent emergency surgery for hemorrhagic shock or gastric perforation were also excluded. Results: Out of 28 patients fulfilling the inclusion criteria, 16 underwent simultaneous gastric and liver resection (SR group), while 12 underwent palliative gastric resection (GR group). The median overall survival (OS) of the entire cohort was of 18.81 months, with 1-, 3- and 5-year OS rates of 71.4%, 17.9% and 14.3%, respectively. The 1-, 3- and 5-year OS rates in SR group (75%, 31.3% and 25%, respectively) were significantly higher than those achieved in GR group (66.7%, 0% and 0%, respectively; p = 0.004). Multivariate analysis of the entire cohort revealed that the only independent prognostic factor associated with better OS was liver resection (HR = 3.954, 95% CI: 1.542-10.139; p = 0.004). Conclusions: In a Western cohort, simultaneous resection of GC and LMGC significantly improved OS compared to patients who underwent palliative gastric resection.

Prognostic role of myeloid-derived tumor-associated macrophages at the tumor invasive margin in gastric cancer with liver metastasis (GCLM): a single-center retrospective study

BACKGROUND

Liver metastasis is one of the important factors leading to poor prognosis of gastric cancer. According to the classic "seed soil theory", it is speculated that the liver microenvironment at the invasion margin of gastric cancer liver metastases (GCLM) may have a crucial impact on tumor progression. However, few studies had stated the correlation between the patients' prognosis and the densities of stromal cells infiltrating into the invasive margin, where our retrospective study designed to identify the role of infiltrating macrophages on the prognosis of GCLM as a reliable supplement of predictive tumor markers.

METHODS

The material consisted of a group of 72 gastric cancer (GC) patients with liver metastasis diagnosed from February 2015 and December 2020. The CD68+, CD206+, and Clec4f+ macrophages in their specimens were counted by immunohistochemistry (IHC), and the analysis area was the invasive margin of metastatic lesions. Clinical data were collected retrospectively. Overall survival (OS) was calculated from the date of initial diagnosis to the date of last follow-up or death. Survival analyses were performed using the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test. Multivariate Cox regression was performed to asses impact of macrophages on OS.

RESULTS

The expression of CD206 could indicate the prognosis of patients with GCLM, and patients with high expression of CD206 had worse prognoses (P=0.0002). Univariate and multivariate analyses showed that CD206 was an independent risk factor for prognosis (HR 5.276, 95% CI: 1.730-16.089, P=0.003).

CONCLUSIONS

The CD206+ myeloid-derived tumor associated macrophages (TAMs) may predict whether patients could benefit from R1 resection of liver-metastatic lesions, which has important theoretical significance and practical value for accurately evaluating the clinical prognosis of patients with GCLM and guiding clinical treatment.

Proposal of new treatment algorithm for gastric cancer liver metastases: Up-front surgery or conversion surgery?

Hepatectomy for gastric cancer liver metastases (GCLM) has a 5-year survival rate of 9-42%; however, indications for hepatectomy remain unclear. Many researchers have reported prognostic factors for GCLM after hepatectomy, but surgical indications vary according to the literature. Furthermore, the indication for optimal candidates for neoadjuvant chemotherapy and intensive chemotherapy is also unclear. To understand the indications for surgery and chemotherapy intended for hepatectomy for GCLM, a new treatment algorithm was created based on previously reported evidence from the viewpoint of hepatic surgeons.

Mitochondria in tumour progression: a network of mtDNA variants in different types of cancer

Background

Mitochondrial participation in tumorigenesis and metastasis has been studied for many years, but several aspects of this mechanism remain unclear, such as the association of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) with different cancers. Here, based on two independent datasets, we modelled an mtDNA mutation-cancer network by systematic integrative analysis including 37 cancer types to identify the mitochondrial variants found in common among them.

Results

Our network showed mtDNA associations between gastric cancer and other cancer types, particularly kidney, liver, and prostate cancers, which is suggestive of a potential role of such variants in the metastatic processes among these cancer types. A graph-based interactive web tool was made available at www2.lghm.ufpa.br/mtdna. We also highlighted that most shared variants were in the MT-ND4, MT-ND5 and D-loop, and that some of these variants were nonsynonymous, indicating a special importance of these variants and regions regarding cancer progression, involving genomic and epigenomic alterations.

Conclusions

This study reinforces the importance of studying mtDNA in cancer and offers new perspectives on the potential involvement of different mitochondrial variants in cancer development and metastasis.

The seen and the unseen: Molecular classification and image based-analysis of gastrointestinal cancers

Gastrointestinal cancers account for 22.5% of cancer related deaths worldwide and represent circa 20% of all cancers. In the last decades, we have witnessed a shift from histology-based to molecular-based classifications using genomic, epigenomic, and transcriptomic data. The molecular based classification revealed new prognostic markers and may aid the therapy selection. Because of the high-costs to perform a molecular classification, in recent years immunohistochemistry-based surrogate classification were developed which permit the stratification of patients, and in parallel multiple groups developed hematoxylin and eosin whole slide image analysis for sub-classifying these entities. Hence, we are witnessing a return to an image-based classification with the purpose to infer hidden information from routine histology images that would permit to detect the patients that respond to specific therapies and would be able to predict their outcome. In this review paper, we will discuss the current histological, molecular, and immunohistochemical classifications of the most common gastrointestinal cancers, gastric adenocarcinoma, and colorectal adenocarcinoma, and will present key aspects for developing a new artificial intelligence aided image-based classification of these malignancies.

Prospective Multicenter Interventional Study of Surgical Resection for Liver Metastasis from Gastric Cancer: R0 Resection Rate, and Operative Morbidity and Mortality

BACKGROUND

The optimal treatment for liver metastasis from gastric cancer (LMGC) remains uncertain. The relevance of surgical resection is controversial. We conducted a prospective multicenter interventional study of surgical resection for LMGC.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Patients with synchronous or metachronous LMGC who were surgically fit were registered. The primary endpoint was 3-year overall survival (OS) of patients who underwent R0 resection. Secondary endpoints were R0 resection rate, operative morbidity and mortality, 3-year recurrence-free survival (RFS) of R0 patients, and OS in all registered patients.

RESULTS

Seventy patients were registered from 24 institutions between December 2011 and November 2019 and received preoperative chemotherapy. Three patients were ineligible, and 19 patients discontinued treatment, with disease progression in 12, adverse events in 4, and consent withdrawal in 3 before surgery. Of the 48 patients eventually undergoing surgery, R0 resection of the primary and/or metastatic GC was accomplished in 43 patients, while 1 patient discontinued treatment for positive peritoneal lavage cytology and 4 patients were considered ineligible based on postoperative pathological findings other than GC. The R0 resection rate of all eligible patients was 68.3% [95% confidence interval (CI) 55.3-79.4%, 43/63 patients], while that of all resected patients was 89.6% (95% CI 77.3-96.5%, 43/48 patients). Postoperative complications were identified in 12 out of 43 patients (27.9%), and Clavien-Dindo grade III or higher complications occurred in seven patients (16.3%). No hospital mortality was observed.

CONCLUSIONS

R0 resection for LMGC could be performed in approximately two-thirds of all eligible patients, with acceptable surgical morbidity and mortality.