Adjuvant therapy selection in gastric cancer still more art than science
AT SSO 2013
One strategy available for better selection of patients for adjuvant therapy is genetic tumor profiling to indentify targetable mutations such as HER-2 which is overexpressed in some gastric cancers.
A promising approach for identifying patients who might benefit from neoadjuvant therapy involves tumor uptake of fluorodeoxyglucose on positron-emission tomography (FDG-PET). In the MUNICON phase II trial (Lancet Oncol 2007;8:797-805), patients deemed to be responders, defined by decreases in tumor glucose standard uptake values (SUVs), had a median event-free survival of 29.7 months compared with 14.1 months in nonresponders (hazard ratio 2.18, P = .002), and 29 of 29 of 50 metabolic responders (58% ) had major histologic remissions, whereas none of the metabolic nonresponders did.
Dr. Coit reported having no financial disclosures.
