Randomized Phase III Trial of Adjuvant Chemotherapy or Chemoradiotherapy in Resectable Gastric Cancer (CRITICS)

Gastric Cancer

CRITICS, gastric cancer, surgery, adjuvant, chemotherapy, chemoradiotherapy, capecitabine, cisplatin, epirubicin

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of combined chemotherapy and radiotherapy (in comparison to chemotherapy alone) as adjuvant treatment after surgery for gastric cancer. Prior to surgery all patients will receive neo-adjuvant chemotherapy as well.

The mainstay of curative treatment of gastric cancer is radical surgical dissection. Because most patients in the Western world present with advanced stages long term survival is found in about 25%, with local recurrences as part of treatment failure in up to 80% of cases. Studies examining the role of more extended lymph node dissections (D1 vs. D2), adjuvant radiotherapy or adjuvant chemotherapy did not result in a clinical relevant improvement of survival. In 2001 results of a South West Oncology group (SWOG) trial that randomized between surgery and surgery with chemoradiotherapy were published. This trial, that was hampered by suboptimal surgery (less than D1 in majority of patients) and radiotherapy (2D radiotherapy; 35% protocol deviations) showed an absolute increase in median survival of 9 months. More recently results of the MAGIC study, which randomized between surgery and surgery plus 6 perioperative courses of ECF chemotherapy, were presented. This regimen resulted in an absolute 5-year survival benefit of 13% and in a 10% higher resectability rate. This phase III prospectively randomized study investigates whether chemoradiotherapy (45 Gy in 5 weeks with daily cisplatin and capecitabine) after preoperative chemotherapy (3x ECC (epirubicin, cisplatin, capecitabine)) and adequate (D1+) surgery leads to improved survival in comparison with postoperative chemotherapy (3x ECC). Furthermore, toxicity of both treatment regimens will be explored.

Netherlands