A phase II study of neoadjuvant combination chemotherapy with docetaxel, cisplatin, and S-1 for locally advanced resectable gastric cancer: nucleotide excision repair (NER) as potential chemoresistance marker

Abstract

Purpose: The combination of docetaxel, cisplatin, and S-1 (DCS) chemotherapy is expected to be a promising regimen for advanced gastric cancer. This study was performed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of neoadjuvant DCS chemotherapy for locally advanced resectable gastric cancer.

Methods: Patients with locally advanced gastric cancer received 2 courses of preoperative chemotherapy with S-1 (40 mg/m(2) b.i.d.) on days 1-14 and docetaxel (60 mg/m(2)) plus cisplatin (60 mg/m(2)) on day 8 every 3 weeks, followed by standard curative surgery within 4-8 weeks. The primary endpoint was R0 resectability. Expression of damage DNA binding protein complex subunit 2 (DDB2)/excision repair cross-complementing 1 (ERCC1) in the pretreated tumor tissues was examined by immunohistochemistry.

Results: A total of 43 patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The response rate was 74.4%, and disease control ratio was 100%. Grade 4 neutropenia developed in 53.5% of patients and febrile neutropenia in 16.3%. Non-hematological grade 3/4 adverse events were anorexia (23.3%), nausea (14.0%), and diarrhea (23.3%), but these were generally transient and manageable. The proportion of R0 resections in the 43 eligible patients was 90.7%, and a pathological response was found in 65.9% of patients. There were no treatment-related deaths and no major surgical complications. The accuracy of the combination of DDB2 and ERCC1 expression for predicting chemoresistance was 82.5%.

Conclusions: Preoperative treatment with DCS combination for locally advanced gastric cancer demonstrated a sufficient R0 resection rate and a good pathological response with manageable toxicities. The DDB2/ERCC1-high phenotype, as determined by immunohistochemistry, may be useful predictor of resistance to DCS chemotherapy.