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Several studies have demonstrated that diverse systemic inflammatory-based prognostic parameters predict a poor prognosis in patients with gastric cancer. However, few studies have focused on the relationships between postoperative complications and systemic inflammatory-based prognostic parameters after curative gastrectomy. We investigated the relationships between postoperative complications and these parameters and assessed the clinical utility of the parameters as predictors of postoperative complications in patients with stage I–III gastric cancer. We retrospectively reviewed 300 patients who underwent curative gastrectomy for stage I–III gastric cancer. All postoperative complications were classified as infectious or noninfectious. We evaluated the relationships between postoperative complications and clinical factors, including systemic inflammatory-based prognostic parameters. In total, 101 patients (33.7%) had postoperative Clavien–Dindo grade II–IV complications, and 54 (18.0%) patients developed infectious complications including pancreatic fistula, pneumonia, anastomotic leak, intra-abdominal abscess, and cholecystitis. The relationships between postoperative complications and systemic inflammatory-based prognostic parameters were evaluated by the areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves. Postoperative pneumonia was identified as the most sensitive complication to the systemic inflammatory-based prognostic parameters. Multivariate analysis revealed that preoperative neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (odds ratio, 14.621; 95% confidence interval, 1.160–184.348; p = 0.038) was an independent predictor of pneumonia. Preoperative neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio may be a useful predictor of postoperative pneumonia in patients with stage I–III gastric cancer after curative gastrectomy.

TAS-102 improved the overall survival of metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) patients with a median progression-free survival (PFS) in the RECOURSE trial. Subsequently, the combination of TAS-102 and bevacizumab was shown to extend the median PFS (C-TASK FORCE study). However, the study included patients who received second- and third-line treatment. Our study exclusively examined patients receiving this combination as a third-line treatment to investigate the clinical impact beyond cytotoxic doublets. This investigator-initiated, open-label, single-arm, multi-centered phase II study was conducted in Japan. Eligible CRC patients were refractory or intolerant to fluoropyrimidine, irinotecan, and oxaliplatin in first- and second-line therapy. TAS-102 (35 mg/m2) was given orally twice daily on days 1–5 and 8–12 in a 4-week cycle, and bevacizumab (5 mg/kg) was administered by intravenous infusion every 2 weeks. The primary endpoint was PFS and the secondary endpoints were time-to-treatment failure, response rate, overall survival (OS), and safety. Between June 2016 and August 2017, 32 patients were enrolled. All patients previously received bevacizumab. The median PFS was 4.5 months; the median overall survival was 9.3 months. Partial response was observed in two patients. The most common adverse events above grade 3 were neutropenia followed by thrombocytopenia. There were no non-hematological adverse events above grade 3 and no treatment-related deaths occurred. This study met its primary endpoint of PFS, which is comparable to the results of the C-TASK FORCE study. The TAS-102 and bevacizumab combination has the potential to be a therapeutic option for third-line treatment of metastatic CRC.

The aim of this phase II study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of combination therapy with five-cycle CAPOX (capecitabine plus oxaliplatin) plus bevacizumab, followed by five-cycle maintenance therapy with capecitabine plus bevacizumab and reintroduction of CAPOX plus bevacizumab for five cycles, with a preplanned intermittent oxaliplatin strategy in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). Patients with untreated mCRC were administered CAPOX (130 mg/m2 oxaliplatin on day 1, 2000 mg/m2/day capecitabine on days 1–14, every 21 days) + bevacizumab (7.5 mg/kg) every 3 weeks for five cycles, maintenance treatment without oxaliplatin for five cycles, and CAPOX + bevacizumab reintroduction for five cycles or upon tumor progression. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS), and the secondary endpoints were the time to treatment failure (TTF), overall survival, response rate (RR), and safety. Forty-seven patients who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were enrolled in the evaluation of efficacy and safety. Median PFS was 14.1 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 8.6–19.5), and median TTF was 12.3 months (95% CI, 10.3–14.3). The objective RRs were 51.1% (24/47) during induction therapy, 58.3% (21/36) during maintenance therapy, and 63.6% (14/22) during reintroduction therapy. The frequency of patients with neutropenia, diarrhea, peripheral sensory neuropathy, venous thromboembolism, or grade ≥ 3 allergic reactions was 2.1%. CAPOX plus bevacizumab therapy with a preplanned intermittent oxaliplatin strategy consisting of brief five-cycle induction therapy, five-cycle maintenance therapy with capecitabine plus bevacizumab, and five-cycle reintroduction therapy consisting of CAPOX plus bevacizumab is safe and effective for mCRC patients. UMIN ID: 000,005,732, date of registration: June 7, 2011. https://upload.umin.ac.jp/cgi-open-bin/ctr/ctr_view.cgi?recptno=R000006695

Approximately 30% patients with stage III colon cancer (CC) develop local recurrence and/or distant metastasis, even if postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy with oxaliplatin plus 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin (5-FU/LV) has been completed. In the present study, molecular analysis was performed to identify molecular markers of tumor recurrence in patients with stage III CC receiving oxaliplatin-based adjuvant chemotherapy. The FACOS study was conducted as a phase II study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of oxaliplatin-based treatment for stage III CC patients. Of the 132 CC patients enrolled in the present study, gene expression analysis using a microarray was conducted in 51 patients. Of these 51 patients, 6 developed recurrence within 5 years. The topmost 5% genes that showed differential expressions between cases that developed/did not develop recurrence were selected, and a set of predictive molecular markers for recurrence was identified. Of the 34,694 genes in the microarray, 1,734 genes were extracted as topmost 5% genes showing differential expressions between cases with and without recurrence. Among these, 10 genes, includingADH1A, ADH1C, CA12, CHP2, HMGCS2, SNAR-A1, TPI1, MS4A12, PLA2G10 and PTPRO, were identified as markers that could clearly divide patients with and without recurrence. Although several prediction models of tumor recurrence have been reported for CC, the set of 10 genes that the present study identified may be useful to predict the risk of recurrence in stage III CC patients receiving oxaliplatin-based adjuvant chemotherapy. Based on these results, high-risk patients with CC should be carefully observed to detect tumor recurrence during the follow-up period.

This randomized phase II trial compared tegafur–uracil/leucovorin (UFT/LV) plus oxaliplatin (TEGAFOX) to UFT/LV as adjuvant chemotherapy for patients with high-risk stage II/III colorectal cancer. From 2010 to April 2015, 159 patients who underwent curative resection were randomly assigned to receive TEGAFOX (85 mg/m2 oxaliplatin on days 1 and 15, 300 mg/m2/day UFT and 75 mg/day LV on days 1–28, every 35 days for five cycles) or UFT/LV. The primary study endpoint was disease-free survival. The 3-year disease-free survival rate was 84.2% in the TEGAFOX arm, versus 62.1% for UFT/LV. The stratified hazard ratio for disease-free survival for TEGAFOX compared to UFT/LV was 0.338 (P < 0.01). The incidence of any-grade adverse events was significantly higher in the TEGAFOX arm (96.1%) than in the UFT/LV arm (76.6%; P < 0.01). The rates of any-grade neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, aspartate aminotransferase/alanine aminotransferase elevation, and peripheral sensory neuropathy were higher in the TEGAFOX group, whereas the incidence of grade ≥ 3 adverse events did not differ between the groups. TEGAFOX is an additional adjuvant chemotherapy option for high-risk stage II/III colorectal cancer. UMIN ID: 000007696, date of registration: April 10, 2012

Chemotherapy with oxaliplatin is known to induce sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (SOS). In a previous single-center study, we reported that oxaliplatin-induced increase in splenic volume (SV) is strongly indicative of SOS, and that this increase in SV persisted for 1 year after completing chemotherapy. The aim of this study was to confirm the oxaliplatin-induced SV change in a multicenter study in patients with stage III colon cancer in Japan.We enrolled 59 patients who underwent curative resection for stage III colon cancer in the FACOS study in a phase II multi-center clinical study. Participants received mFOLFOX6 or CAPOX as adjuvant chemotherapy. SV change was assessed three times by computed tomographic volumetry: before surgery, on completion of adjuvant chemotherapy, and 1 year after completing adjuvant chemotherapy.SV on completing and 1 year after chemotherapy was significantly higher than that before surgery (P 0.001). Oxaliplatin-induced SOS persisted for 1 year after the completion of adjuvant chemotherapy in half of the patients. There was no difference in 3-year disease-free survival with respect to the presence or absence of increased SV. An increase in SV was observed in 72% of patients treated with mFOLFOX6 and 94% of patients treated with CAPOX (P = 0.13).This study can be verified the findings observed in our previous single-center study, oxaliplatin-based adjuvant chemotherapy was associated with an increase in SV. Furthermore, this increase can persist for 1 year. The continuous presence of SOS may have a negative impact on prognosis in patients that develop recurrent disease.

Adjuvant chemotherapy with oxaliplatin combined with a fluoropyrimidine derivative is widely accepted as standard therapy for patients with stage III colon cancer, since few clinical data are available for Japanese patients. The FACOS trial investigated the tolerability of modified FOLFOX6 (mFOLFOX6) and XELOX regimens in Japanese colon cancer patients. Twelve cycles of mFOLFOX6 or 8 cycles of XELOX were given to patients with eligibility: stage III curatively resected colon cancer, performance status of 0–1, age from 20 to 75 years, and adequate organ function. The primary endpoint was 3-year disease-free survival. Secondary endpoints were the incidence of adverse events (AEs) and the completion rate of study therapy. From April 2010 to April 2014, a total of 132 patients were enrolled. Safety was analyzed in 130 patients, with finalized data from 73 patients receiving mFOLFOX6 and 57 patients receiving XELOX. A total of 130 patients (100%) experienced AEs (any grade), and 52 patients (40.0%) experienced AEs of grade ≥ 3. No significant difference in the frequency of grade ≥ 3 AEs was observed between mFOLFOX6 and XELOX groups. Continuation of the planned cycle rate of protocol treatment was 69.9% in the mFOLFOX6 group and 68.4% in the XELOX group. Treatment was discontinued because of AEs in 14 patients (19.2%) in the mFOLFOX6 group and 8 (14.0%) in the XELOX group. Mean relative dose intensity for oxaliplatin was 78.0% in the mFOLFOX6 group and 82.8% in the XELOX group. As adjuvant chemotherapy for stage III colon cancer, mFOLFOX6/XELOX regimens are acceptable.

Perfusion computed tomography (PCT) is a less invasive imaging modality that provides information about tissue hemodynamics at the capillary level. The present study aimed to investigate the correlation between hepatic perfusion and gastric cancer progression. A total of 136 patients with gastric adenocarcinoma were evaluated in the present study. Prior to initial treatment, liver PCT was performed across the hepatic hilar plane and the hepatic blood flow (HBF) was measured using the dual-input deconvolution method. HBF was compared with clinicopathological factors, patient prognosis and circulating serum proangiogenic cytokines. The median HBF was 217 ml/min/100 g tissue. Patients with high HBF had larger tumors (43 mm vs. 71, P

Background The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and the platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) are associated with poor prognoses in patients with gastric cancer; however, few studies have focused on the dynamic changes in these ratios during the treatment of patients with gastric cancer. Here, we assessed the clinical utility of changes in these ratios as prognostic indicators in patients with stage II or III gastric cancer who received adjuvant chemotherapy. Methods We retrospectively reviewed 100 patients who received S-1 adjuvant chemotherapy at ≥70% of the relative dose intensity, and their NLRs and PLRs were evaluated at different times: prior to gastrectomy and upon commencement and termination of adjuvant chemotherapy. To assure the clinical utility of the changes in NLR and PLR as prognostic indicators, other clinical factors were assessed as well. Results Disease recurred in 35 patients as follows: lymph node metastasis (17 patients, 17.0%), peritoneal metastasis (12 patients, 12.0%), and hematogenous metastasis (6 patients, 6.0%); 24 patients died. An increase in the NLR during adjuvant chemotherapy with S-1 was identified as an independent indicator associated with overall survival (hazard ratio [HR] 6.736, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.420–18.748; P

224 Background: The combination regimen of TAS-102 and bevacizumab as salvage-line therapy for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) was established based on its high clinical effectiveness (C-TASK FORCE). Recently, our current phase II TAS-CC3 study demonstrated comparable median progression-free survival (PFS: 4.5m) and overall survival (OS: 9.2m) with exclusive inclusion of 3rd line therapy patients. However, practical predictors for its efficacy are lacking. This study evaluated inflammation-based scores as potential predictors for this combination therapy. Methods: This is a post hoc analysis of investigator-initiated, open-label, single-arm, multicentered phase II study (TAS-CC3) in Japan with 32 mCRC patients treated with the combination therapy. We investigated the predictive and prognostic values of pretreatment blood inflammation-based scores, including neutrophil-to-lymphocyte (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte (PLR), and lymphocyte-monocyte ratios (LMR), on disease-control (DC), PFS and OS. These were divided into two groups (high and low) using cut-off of each median values. This study was registered at the University Hospital Medical Information Network, as UMIN#000022438. Results: ROC curve analyses of 3 inflammation-based scores versus DC showed a best predictive performance in LMR, followed by NLR and PLR (AUC: 0.89, 0.85, and 0.68, respectively). The high LMR group had a significantly higher DC rate than the low group (87.5 vs. 43.8%, P= 0.023). Two patients showing partial responses were in the high group. The high LMR group showed significantly longer survivals compared with the low group (4.9 vs. 2.3m, respectively for median PFS, P= 0.014) (20.5 vs. 5.1m, respectively for median OS, P< 0.001). The values of LMR were significantly correlated with PFS and OS (r = 0.56: P< 0.001 and 0.62: P< 0.001, respectively). Conclusions: Pretreatment LMR is a valid predictive and prognostic biomarker for mCRC patients with TAS-102 and bevacizumab treatment and might be clinically useful for selecting patients of the responder. Clinical trial information: 000022438.

116 Background: Regorafenib, a multi-kinase inhibitor, significantly improved overall survival in previously treated metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients in the phase 3 CORRECT trial. Despite its significant benefits, various toxicities such as hand-foot skin reaction (HFSR), fatigue, and liver dysfunction have limited regorafenib use. The toxicities occur soon after treatment initiation, typically within the first cycle, and later improve. Although the standard daily dose of regorafenib is 160 mg, physicians have adopted various dosing regimens in clinical practice, indicating the need to optimize the dosing strategy to maintain the antitumor benefits. The ReDOS study demonstrated the effectiveness of a weekly dose-escalating strategy (WDES) of regorafenib starting with a lower daily dose. We conducted the phase II RECC study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of WDES for regorafenib in an Asian population. Methods: Patients with sufficient organ function who had previously received more than two lines of chemotherapy were included. Regorafenib was started at 80 mg/day and escalated to 120 mg/day in Week 2 and 160 mg/day in Week 3 if no severe drug-related toxicities were observed. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS) and secondary endpoints were time to treatment failure (TTF), response rate (RR), overall survival (OS), and safety. Tumor response and progression were assessed radiologically every 8 weeks. Results: From March 2017 to November 2018, 57 eligible patients were enrolled and all started regorafenib at 80 mg/day. Thirty-five patients (61%) were subsequently escalated to 120 mg/day and 16 (28%) to 160 mg/day. Forty patients (70.2%) finished Cycle 2 at 8 weeks. Only 8 patients (14%) discontinued treatment because of adverse events. The median PFS was 1.9 months, RR was 0%, and disease control rate was 32%. The most frequent adverse event ≥grade 3 was hypertension (17.5%), followed by HFSR (14%). No treatment-related deaths occurred. Conclusions: Regorafenib dose escalation was well tolerated with PFS similar to that reported in the CORRECT study, indicating that WDES may represent an option for regorafenib administration. Clinical trial information: UMIN000028933.

The aim of this single-arm phase II clinical trial was to evaluate whether the alternate-day administration of S-1 plus irinotecan would reduce the incidence of severe diarrhea in comparison to consecutive-day S-1 administration (standard IRIS regimen) in second-line treatment for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. Patients with metastatic colorectal cancer after failure with first-line treatment of oxaliplatin and fluoropyrimidine were enrolled. Irinotecan (150 mg/m2) and bevacizumab (5 mg/kg) were given intravenously on day 1. Oral S-1 was administered on alternate days at a dose of 40–60 mg twice a day. Cycles were repeated every 2 weeks. The primary endpoint was the incidence of grade ≥ 3 diarrhea. Our hypothesis set 21% as a threshold incidence and 10% as an expected incidence from previous studies with one-sided alpha 0.05. The secondary endpoints included the relative dose intensity, progression-free survival, overall survival and other adverse events. A total of 51 patients were enrolled. The incidence of grade ≥ 3 diarrhea was 15.7% (8/51). Other common grade ≥ 3 adverse events were neutropenia, anemia, thrombocytopenia and fatigue were 13.7% (7/51), 5.9% (3/51), 2.0% (1/51) and 5.9% (3/51), respectively. The relative dose intensities of irinotecan, bevacizumab, and S-1 were 80.0, 86.8, and 77.7%, respectively. The median progression-free survival and overall survival were 8.4 months (5.8–9.8) and 17.1 months (11.8–22.3). The alternate-day S-1 administration does not have significant effectiveness to reduce diarrhea in patients who received second-line treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer.

The clinical outcomes of patients who have undergone total pelvic exenteration (TPE) for locally advanced primary colorectal cancer have not been satisfactory. For the last 13 years, we have performed layer-oriented, en bloc resection of tumor for which TPE is indicated, in the hope of improving postoperative outcomes. The clinical outcomes of these cases were retrospectively analyzed.A total of 54 patients who underwent TPE from 1986 to 2013 were retrospectively analyzed. Since 2002, a layer-oriented removal for clinical T4 colorectal cancer, as in T3 or less invasive tumors removed by total mesorectal excision, was applied to 23 cases for which TPE was indicated. Postoperative mortality, morbidity, overall survival (OS), and disease-free survival (DFS) were evaluated.On univariate analysis, good postoperative OS and DFS were associated with the layer-oriented operative maneuver, blood loss less than 2000 mL, negative nodal metastasis, and no preoperative radiation therapy. Male sex was the marginal determinant correlated with good OS and DFS. Depth of invasion to T3 was the marginal determinant correlated with good DFS. On multivariate analysis using the 4 factors identified on univariate analyses, the layer-oriented operative procedure was a significant determinant for both good OS and DFS, together with negative nodal metastases. Postoperative mortality and morbidity in the layer-oriented excision were acceptable.For primary colorectal cancers for which TPE is indicated, layer-oriented excision was a safe and effective procedure, and it may be recommended as one of the standard surgical approaches in TPE.

Ryohei Itagaki, Keiji Koda, Masato Yamazaki, Kiyohiko Shuto, Chihiro Kosugi, Atsushi Hirano, Hidehito Arimitsu, Risa Shiragami, Yukino Yoshimura, Masato Suzuki Department of Surgery, Teikyo University Chiba Medical Center, Anesaki, Ichihara, Chiba, Japan Purpose: Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine [5-HT])3 receptor antagonists are effective for the treatment of diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D), in which exaggerated intestinal/colonic hypermotility is often observed. Recent studies have suggested that the motility disorder, especially spastic hypermotility, seen in the neorectum following sphincter-preserving operations for rectal cancer may be the basis of the postoperative defecatory malfunction seen in these patients. We investigated the efficacy of 5-HT3 receptor antagonists in patients suffering from severe low anterior resection syndrome. Patients and methods: A total of 25 male patients with complaints of uncontrollable urgency or fecal incontinence following sphincter-preserving operations were enrolled in this study. Defecatory status, assessed on the basis of incontinence score (0–20), urgency grade (0–3), and number of toilet visits per day, was evaluated using a questionnaire before and 1 month after the administration of the 5-HT3 antagonist ramosetron. Results: All the parameters assessed improved significantly after taking ramosetron for 1 month. The effect was more prominent in cases whose anastomotic line was lower, ie, inside the anal canal. Defecatory function was better in patients who commenced ramosetron therapy within 6 months postoperatively, as compared to those who were not prescribed ramosetron for more than 7 months postoperatively. Conclusion: These results suggest that 5-HT3 antagonists are effective for the treatment of low anterior resection syndrome, as in diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome. The improvement in symptoms is not merely time dependent, but it is related to treatment with 5-HT3 antagonists. Keywords: low anterior resection syndrome, serotonin receptor antagonist, ISR, defecatory malfunction

Background TAS-102 improved overall survival of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients with median progression-free survival (PFS) of 2.0 months (RECOURSE trial). Subsequently, the combination of TAS-102 and bevacizumab (BV) has been shown to extend median PFS to 3.7 months (C-TASK FORCE). However, this study included patients with 2nd line and 3rd line chemotherapy. Furthermore, combination chemotherapy of TAS-102 plus BV was reportedly associated with grade ≥3 neutropenia in 72% of treated patients. This study was designed for patients being treated as 3rd line chemotherapy to investigate the clinical impact of this combination and whether neutropenia could be suppressed by altering the TAS-102 administration protocol (biweekly method). Methods This phase II study was conducted in investigator-initiated, open-label, single-arm, multicenter manner in Japan. Eligible patients were 20-80 years old and had to have an ECOG performance status of 0 or 1; had confirmed unresectable mCRC with histologically diagnosed adenocarcinoma; had previously administrated first- and second-line chemotherapy for mCRC and whose tumors were diagnosed as progression of disease (PD). TAS-102 (35 mg/ m²) was given orally twice daily on days 1 -5 and 15 -19 in a 4-weeks cycle, and BV (5 mg/ kg) was administered by intravenous infusion for 30 min in every 2 weeks. The primary endpoint was PFS, and the secondary endpoints were response rate (RR), disease control rate (DCR), overall survival (OS), and safety. This study was registered at the University Hospital Medical Information Network, as UMIN#000030030. Results Between January 1, 2018, and March 31, 2019, 45 patients with mCRC were enrolled in this study (median age, 63; male, 51%). The median PFS was 121 days. The RR and DCR were 4.4% and 73.3%, respectively. Grade 3 or higher adverse events were hypertension (20.0%), neutropenia (15.5 %), leukopenia (6.7 %), fatigue (6.7 %), anemia (4.4 %), anorexia (2.2 %), nausea (2.2 %), creatinine increased (2.2 %) and proteinuria (2.2 %). No treatment-related deaths occurred. Conclusions Biweekly administration of TAS-102 and BV prevents neutropenia and could be one of the treatment options for 3rd line chemotherapy for mCRC. Clinical trial identification UMIN000030030. 2018/March/01. Legal entity responsible for the study The authors. Funding Has not received any funding. Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.

614 Background: TAS-102 improved overall survival of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients with median progression free survival (PFS) of 2.0 months (RECOURSE trial). Subsequently, the combination of TAS-102 and bevacizumab has been shown to extend median PFS with 3.7 months (C-TASK FORCE). However, this study included patients with 2nd line and 3rd line chemotherapy. Our study was planned exclusively for patients receiving this combination as a 3rd line chemotherapy to investigate clinical impact of this combination beyond cytotoxic doublet. Methods: This phase II study was conducted in investigator-initiated, open-label, single-arm, multicentered manner in Japan. Eligible patients were 20-80 years old, and had to have an ECOG performance status of 0 or 1; had confirmed unresectable mCRC with histologically diagnosed adenocarcinoma; were refractory or intolerant to fluoropyrimidine, irinotecan, and oxaliplatin in the 1st and the 2nd line chemotherapy. TAS-102 (35 mg/ m²) was given orally twice daily on days 1–5 and 8–12 in a 4-weeks cycle, and bevacizumab (5 mg/ kg) was administered by intravenous infusion for 30 minutes in every 2 weeks. The primary endpoint was progression free survival (PFS), and the secondary endpoints were time to treatment failure (TTF), response rate (RR), overall survival (OS), and safety. Results: Between June 2016 and August 2017, 32 pts were enrolled. The median PFS was 4.5 months, and the median OS was 9.3 months. Partial response was observed in 2 patients. The most common adverse events above grade 3 were neutropenia (15 patients) followed by thrombocytopenia (4 patients). Treatment-related serious adverse events were reported in 1 patient. There were no non-hematologic adverse events above grade 3. No treatment-related deaths occurred. Conclusions: This is the first study which involves the combination TAS-102 and bevacizumab as the 3rd line chemotherapy in the setting beyond cytotoxic doublet for the patients with mCRC. This study met its primary endpoint PFS, which is comparable to the results of C-TASK FORCE study. This combination has a potential to be one of therapeutic options of the 3rd line chemotherapy for mCRC. Clinical trial information: 000022438.

546 Background: Oxaliplatin reduces the recurrence rate after curative surgery for stage III colorectal cancer. However, it can cause hepatic sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (SOS), an adverse effect that creates morbidity after liver resection for recurrence. SOS has conventionally been diagnosed by liver biopsy, which is invasive. We have reported that a 10% increase in splenic volume (SV) indicates SOS (J Surg Oncol 2017). In this multi-center study, we measured SV to evaluate SOS caused by adjuvant chemotherapy. Methods: This multi-center study included the participants of the FACOS study, which included patients with Stage III colon cancer. Participants received 12 cycles of mFOLFOX6 or eight cycles of XELOX as adjuvant chemotherapy. We used multi-detector raw CT to measure SV three times; before surgery, on completion of adjuvant chemotherapy, and 1-year after completing adjuvant chemotherapy. CT images were taken in 5-mm slices. SV was calculated by using a volume calculator SYNAPSE VINCENT v3.0(Fujifilm, Japan). Results: The FACOS study included 130 patients, 16.9% of whom discontinued treatment. The mean relative dose intensity (RDI) of oxaliplatin was 80.3%. Grade 3 neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, and neuropathy were observed in 28.5%, 6.2%, and 4.6% of patients, respectively. The 3 year DFS was 82.2%. We analyzed data of 75 patients (57.7%) for whom the three CT studies were available. SV on completing chemotherapy (median 181 cm3) and SV 1-year after completing chemotherapy (141 cm3) were significantly higher than that before surgery (128 cm3) (P < 0.001). SV increased by more than 10% after chemotherapy in 72% and was still increased 1 year after chemotherapy in 51% of patients. Conclusions: In our previous single center study, SV had increased in 84% on completing chemotherapy and was still increased in 47% 1 year after completing chemotherapy. Adjuvant chemotherapy without oxaliplatin induced SV increases in only 20% of patients on completing chemotherapy. Thus, these results are reproducible and show the potential of oxaliplatin to induce SOS. Oxaliplatin frequently induces SOS and this SOS persists for over 1 year in half of affected patients. Clinical trial information: UMIN000005427.

Background: It has not been elucidated whether the clinical efficacy of oral fluoropyrimidines for adjuvant chemotherapy of colorectal cancer varies with tumor biological characteristics. Patients and Methods: A multicenter randomized trial was performed comparing oral tegafur/gimeracil/oteracil (S-1) and uracil-tegafur/ leucovorin (UFT/LV) as adjuvant therapy for stage III colorectal cancer. Postoperative survival was compared based on the 5-FU-related mRNA levels in cancer tissues. Results: Among patients with tumor expressing dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) mRNA within the 66.7th percentile (lower 2/3) of all cases, overall survival (OS) was significantly better in the S-1 than in the UFT/LV group. In the S-1 group, patients with low DPD-expressing tumors had significantly better OS than those with highly expressing tumors. Patients with low thymidine synthase (TS)-expressing tumors had significantly better OS than those with highly expressing tumors. Conclusion: The efficacy of oral fluoropyrimidines as adjuvant chemotherapy for colorectal cancer may be influenced by the level of 5-FU-related mRNA in cancer tissues.

740 Background: The FOLFOX with bevacizumab (B-mab) has been established as a standard first-line therapy for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), and OPTIMOX1 study suggested that stop and go strategy for oxaliplatin reduced peripheral sensory neuropathy. The CapeOx is one of the standard treatments for mCRC that has been proven to be as effective as the FOLFOX regimen. Thus we accessed the efficacy and safety of the combination of intermittent CapeOx + B-mab as a first-line therapy in patients with mCRC in this trial. Methods: Eligibility criteria included ECOG PS: 0–1, No Peripheral neuropathy ( < Grade 1). Patients received CapeOX (oxaliplatin 130mg/m2, capecitabine 2000mg/m2 + B-mab 7.5mg/kg) q3 weeks for 5 cycles, maintenance without oxaliplatin for 5 cycles, and reintroduction CapeOX + B-mab for 5 cycles until progression. Primary endpoint was Progression Free Survival (PFS). Results: Between March 2011 and August 2013, 55 pts were enrolled. Baseline characteristics were median age of 67 years (range, 20–83); PS 0/1 (49/6 pts); male/female (33/22 pts), colon/rectum (28/27pts) and metastatic lesion liver/lung/lymph nodes (32/18/21 pts). A total of 47 pts were evaluated as Par Protocol Set population. 38 pts moved from initial CapeOX to maintenance Capecitabine. 20 pts moved to CapeOx reintroduction. Median PFS was 14.7months (95%CI, 8.6–19.5) and Median TTF was 12.3 months (95%CI, 10.3–14.3). Best overall response rate was 48.0%. Oxaliplatin reintroduction rate was 57.4%. Main grade 3/4 toxicity were: neutropenia (1 pt), anemia (1 pt), peripheral neuropathy (1 pt), allergic reaction of oxaliplatin (1 pt), deep vein thrombosis (1 pt), nausea (1 pt), hand-foot syndrome (1 pt), and hypertension (1 pt). Conclusions: This study met its primary endpoint PFS. CapeOx intermittent oxaliplatin indicated to reduce incidence of severe neutropenia and peripheral sensory neuropathy. The results suggested that our treatment strategy was well tolerate and effective for first line therapy in mCRC, and maintenance duration for 5 cycles, was reasonable. Clinical trial information: UMIN000005732.

胆管閉塞を来した好酸球性胆管炎の2症例を経験した. 症例1は53歳の女性で, 検診にて肝異常陰影を指摘された. CT, ERCPで肝左葉の肝内胆管閉塞を認めた. 胆汁細胞診は良性であったが胆管癌も否定できず肝左葉切除術を施行した. 病理組織学的には胆管閉塞部位に多数の好酸球浸潤を認めた. 術後18か月再発の兆候はない. 症例2は87歳の女性で, 主訴は右上腹部痛. ERCPで下部胆管閉塞と総胆管結石を認め, 閉塞部位の組織診で好酸球主体の炎症細胞浸潤を認めた. 内視鏡的胆道拡張術, 切石術により症状は軽快した. 術後17か月再発の兆候はない. 文献上, 好酸球性胆管炎として報告されている症例は18例と少ない. 悪性疾患を念頭に高侵襲な治療が施行された報告もあるが, 近年臨床報告の増加から徐々に病態が解明されつつあり, 内視鏡的治療が主体となっていくと考えられる. 本疾患の知見と的確な診断により治療の低侵襲を維持できると考えられた.

Aberrant crypt foci (ACF) are thought to be preneoplastic lesions and are assessed by magnifying chromoscopy with methylene blue staining. The aim of this study was to evaluate the predictive value of rectal ACF recognized by conventional chromoscopy for colonic advanced neoplasms.Total colonoscopy, involving rectal chromoscopy using indigo carmine with standard colonoscopies, was performed on 386 patients. Patients who showed no ACF were classified as Grade 0, and those who had 1-4, 5-9, and 10+ ACF were classified as Grades 1, 2, or 3, respectively. The correlation between ACF grading and the prevalence of colonic advanced neoplasm, any adenomaor=1 cm in size and/or with villous or tubulovillous morphology, and/or with high-grade dysplasia or invasive cancer, was assessed.Sixty-three patients were classified as ACF Grade 0, 119 as Grade 1, 116 as Grade 2, and 88 as Grade 3. Colonic advanced neoplasm was observed in 4 patients (6.3%) for Grade 0, 43 (36.1%) for Grade 1, 61 (52.6%) for Grade 2, and 57 (64.8%) for Grade 3. As the ACF grade increased, the chance of a patient having a colonic advanced neoplasm increased. For multivariate analyses, compared with patients with Grade 0, those with Grades 1, 2, or 3 had a greater risk of colonic advanced neoplasm (odds ratio [OR] 9.18, 95% CI 3.08-27.33, OR 20.44, 95% CI 6.81-61.42, and OR 32.94, 95% CI 10.49-103.41, respectively).Chromoscopic assessment of rectal ACF by conventional techniques is useful for predicting colonic advanced neoplasms.

749 Background: The recommended dose of combination chemotherapy of irinotecan, bevacizumab and oral S-1 is 100mg/m2, 5mg/kg and 80-120mg/body respectively. To evaluate whether the dose of irinotecan could be raised to 150mg/m2 with modified administration of S-1, we have conducted a phase II study of irinotecan and bevacizumab plus alternate day S-1 in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (UMIN000008947). Methods: Patients with metastatic colorectal cancer after failure with first-line treatment of oxaliplatine and fluoropyrimidine were enrolled. Irinotecan (150 mg/m2) and bevacizumab (5mg/kg) were given intravenously on day 1. Oral S-1was administered on alternate days at a dose of 40-60mg twice a day. Cycles were repeated every two weeks. Results: A total of 51 patients were evaluated in the first fouur cycles. Grade 3 and 4 neutropenia were 10% (10/51) and 13.7%(7/10), grade 3 and 4 thrombocytopenia were 0%(0/51) and 2.0% (1/51). Grade 2 and 3 mucositis were 13.7% (7/51) and 3.9% (2/51). Grade 2 and 3 nausea were 11.8% (6/51) and 2.0% (1/51). Grade 2 and 3 diarrhea were 17.6% (9/51) and 15.7% (8/51). The relative dose intensities were 84.8% for irinotecan, 87.5% for bevacizumab, and 84.8% for S-1 respectively in the first four cycles. Conclusions: Our data suggest that irinotecan (150 mg/m2) and bevacizumab was administered safely with alternate day S-1 as second-line tratment in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. Clinical trial information: 000008947.

It is common these days to treat common bile duct (CBD) stones using endoscopic techniques. However, severe complications sometimes lead to death despite the great benefit of these techniques. If the patient has many and/or large stones, it can take considerable time for duct clearance, and this is associated with high costs. Therefore, we do not hesitate to choose surgical procedures when necessary. In this study, our aim was to evaluate the usefulness of primary closure of the CBD in open laparotomy for CBD stones. Thirty-four patients with CBD stones were operated on by open laparotomy; primary closure was done in 17 patients (group PC), and T-tube insertion was done in 17 (group TT). We compared the patients' medical records, clinical features, laboratory data, complications, and postoperative hospital admission days. There were no significant intergroup differences in patients' medical records, clinical features, or laboratory data, except for the number of CBD stones. There were no differences in complications. All complications were minor and needed no extra care. The number of postoperative hospital admission days showed a significant difference: 18.3 days in group PC and 31.5 in group TT. There are so many methods to treat CBD stones now that the selection of the procedure can be important for the patient's benefit. We prefer primary closure, to get better quality of life postoperatively and to avoid further operations and any severe complications.

Background Anterior resection for rectal disease is associated with extrinsic autonomic denervation of the neorectum, which may influence the myenteric plexus, and subsequently the motility/defecatory status after operation. Methods A rat model with denervated neorectum was constructed. Colonic contractile activity in vivo, the amount of generic neuron marker (PGP 9.5) and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) were measured periodically. The responses of the muscle strip in each period to electrical field stimulation were evaluated using various neurotransmitters. Results In rats with denervated neorectum, giant migrating contractions (GMCs) of the distal colon, the number of fecal lumps per day and their small size, significantly increased in the early phase postoperatively, although both recovered in the late-phase period. The contractile response of the muscle strip of the denervated colon to acetylcholine was reduced throughout the period; however, contraction of the denervated colon under the addition of NO inhibitor ( l -NAME) was enhanced significantly in the late-phase period, and recovered to the control level by atropine. Neuronal NOS, but not PGP 9.5 concentration, in the myenteric plexus at the distal denervated colon, significantly increased in the late-phase period. None of the above items differed from the control at other colonic portions throughout the period. Conclusions Extrinsic autonomic denervation causes abnormal hyper-motility in the neorectum, which may be associated with multiple evacuations in the early phase postoperatively. Increased acetylcholine and the subsequent increase of neuronal NOS in the myenteric plexus may be an adaptive mechanism to compensate for such abnormal colonic motility after extrinsic denervation.

Aim: The FOLFOX with bevacizumab regimen has been established as a standard first-line therapy for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), and the OPTIMOX1 study suggested that a stop and go strategy for oxaliplatin reduced peripheral sensory neuropathy. We had already evaluated the efficacy of OPTIMOX1 plus bevacizumab in patients (pts) with mCRC (CRAFT study, Tezuka et al, Invest New Drugs 2013). CapeOx is one of the standard treatments for mCRC that has been proven to be as effective as the FOLFOX regimen. Thus we assessed the efficacy and safety of the combination of intermittent CapeOx + Bevacizumab as a first-line therapy in patients with mCRC in this trial. Methods: Eligibility criteria included ECOG PS: 0–1, no peripheral neuropathy ( Results: Between March 2011 and August 2013, 55 pts were enrolled. Baseline characteristics were median age of 67 years (range, 20–83); PS 0/1 (49/6 pts); male/female(33/22 pts), colon/rectum (28/27pts) and metastatic lesion liver/lung/lymph nodes (32/18/21 pts). A total of 47 pts were evaluated as Par Protocol Set population. 38 pts moved from initial CapeOX to maintenance capecitabine. 20 pts moved to CapeOx reintroduction. Median PFS was 12.4 months (95%CI, 7.7–17.1) and Median TTF was 8.3 months (95%CI, 4.5–12.1). Best overall response rate was 50.9%. Median capecitabine courses were 5 cycles (range 1–5). Oxaliplatin reintroduction rate was 52%. The causes of reintroduction failure were disease progression (3 pts), successful liver resection (2 pts), peripheral sensory neuropathy grade 2 (1 pt). Main grade 3/4 toxicities: neutropenia, anemia, peripheral neuropathy, hand-foot syndrome, and hypertension in 1 patient. Conclusions: This study met its primary endpoint PFS. It was longer than the CRAFT study. CapeOx with intermittent oxaliplatin is indicated to reduce incidence of severe neutropenia and peripheral sensory neuropathy. The results suggested that our treatment strategy was well tolerated and effective for first-line therapy in mCRC, and maintenance of duration for 5 cycles was reasonable. Disclosure: All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.

520 Background: Oral anticancer drug, UFT/LV, has recently been reported to improve both overall survival (OS) and relapse free survival (RFS) for patients with Stage III colorectal cancer in Japan. We conducted a randomized clinical trial to compare S-1 with UFT/LV for adjuvant therapy in patients with Stage III colorectal cancer. Methods: Patients with Stage III colorectal cancer (PS, 0 to 1; age, 20 to 80 years) were randomized to take either UFT / LV (28 days per 5 weeks) for 6 months. or S-1 (28 days per 6 weeks) for 12 months started within 6 weeks following curative resection. We investigated the correlations between disease- free survival (DFS) and tissue mRNA levels of 5-FU and folate metabolism-related enzymes. In addition, we investigated overall survival (OS) and safety. Results: Between April 2008 and August 2010, a total of 145 patients were registered from 22 centers. There were no clear intergroup differences in background factors. The patients who relapsed during protocol duration of treatment were excluded, the percentages of patients who took expected dosage of medicine were 67.1% (47/70) and 87.3% (62/71) in S-1 and UFT/LV groups, respectively. Grade3 to 4 myelosuppression(4%), bilirubin(3%) and diarrhea(8%) were occurred in S-1 group whereas, grade 3 liver dysfunction (5%) and diarrhea (5%) occurred in UFT/LV group, but all of them were reversible. The median follow-up period was 934 days, 3-years’ DFS in patients of S-1 and UFT/LV groups were 65.9% and 72.7%, respectively (p=0.88). In a univariate analysis, topoisomerase-1 (TOPO-1) mRNA level was shown as a factor of the recurrences. A poor-prognosis patient population was observed in the S-1 group such as with low gamma-glutamyl hydrolase (GGH) mRNA level. Conclusions: Oral anticancer drug, S-1 showed an equivalent effect for UFT/LV in Stage III colorectal cancer as adjuvant therapy. Tissue levels of mRNA of 5-FU/ folate metabolism-related enzymes were important parameters for postoperative prognosis in patients with stage III colorectal cancer who take oral 5-FU derivatives for adjuvant therapy. Clinical trial information: UMIN000001560.