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PURPOSE To investigate the efficacy and safety of trastuzumab deruxtecan, an antibody-drug conjugate targeting human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) with a topoisomerase I inhibitor payload, in patients with uterine carcinosarcoma (UCS) expressing HER2. PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients with recurrent UCS with HER2 immunohistochemistry scores ≥1+ previously treated with chemotherapy were included. Patients were assigned to the HER2-high (immunohistochemistry score ≥2+; n = 22) or low (immunohistochemistry score of 1+; n = 10) groups for primary and exploratory analyses, respectively. Trastuzumab deruxtecan 6.4 or 5.4 mg/kg was administered intravenously once every 3 weeks until unacceptable toxicity or disease progression. Dose modification was based on the updated recommended phase II dose for breast cancer to be 5.4 mg/kg. The primary end point was the objective response rate by central review in the HER2-high group. Secondary end points included the overall response rate (ORR) in the HER2-high group by investigator assessment, ORR in the HER2-low group, progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and safety. RESULTS The ORR by central review in the HER2-high and HER2-low groups were 54.5% (95% CI, 32.2 to 75.6) and 70.0% (95% CI, 34.8 to 93.3) and those by investigator assessments were 68.2% and 60.0%, respectively. The median PFS and OS in the HER2-high and HER2-low groups were 6.2 and 13.3 months and 6.7 months and not reached, respectively. Grade ≥ 3 adverse events occurred in 20 patients (61%). Grades 1-2 and 3 pneumonitis/interstitial lung disease occurred in eight (24%) and one (3%) patient, respectively. CONCLUSION Trastuzumab deruxtecan has efficacy in patients with UCS, regardless of HER2 status. The safety profile was generally consistent with that previously reported. Toxicities were manageable with appropriate monitoring and treatment.

Definitive chemoradiotherapy (CRT) is the standard treatment for patients with locally advanced esophageal cancer (EC) who refuse surgery as the initial therapy. However, poor survival, a high incidence of late toxicities, and severe complications after salvage surgery remain issues to be resolved. This single-arm multicenter trial (JCOG0909) aimed to confirm the efficacy of CRT modifications, including salvage treatment for reducing CRT-related toxicities and facilitating salvage treatment for improved survival.Patients with clinical stage II/III EC (International Union Against Cancer sixth edition, non-T4) were eligible. Chemotherapy comprised cisplatin (75 mg/mOverall, 96 patients were enrolled, and 94 were included in the efficacy analysis. A complete response was achieved in 55 patients (59%). Salvage endoscopic resection and salvage surgery were performed in 5 (5%) and 25 patients (27%), respectively. R0 resection by salvage surgery was achieved in 19 patients (76%). Five patients (20%) showed grade 3 or 4 early operative complications, and 9 patients (9.6%) showed grade 3 late toxicities during the long-term follow-up. The 3-year OS was 74.2% (90% confidence interval, 65.9%-80.8%).The combination of definitive CRT and salvage treatment has lower CRT-related toxicities and yields good OS, thus making it a promising novel treatment option for patients with locally advanced EC.

Background This randomised phase II/III trial aimed to determine whether perioperative chemotherapy with gemcitabine plus docetaxel (GD) is non-inferior to the standard Adriamycin plus ifosfamide (AI) in terms of overall survival (OS) in patients with soft tissue sarcoma (STS). Methods Patients with localised high-risk STS in the extremities or trunk were randomised to receive AI or GD. The treatments were repeated for three preoperative and two postoperative courses. The primary endpoint was OS. Results Among 143 enrolled patients who received AI (70 patients) compared to GD (73 patients), the estimated 3-year OS was 91.4% for AI and 79.2% for GD (hazard ratio 2.55, 95% confidence interval: 0.80–8.14, P = 0.78), exceeding the prespecified non-inferiority margin in the second interim analysis. The estimated 3-year progression-free survival was 79.1% for AI and 59.1% for GD. The most common Grade 3–4 adverse events in the preoperative period were neutropenia (88.4%), anaemia (49.3%), and febrile neutropenia (36.2%) for AI and neutropenia (79.5%) and febrile neutropenia (17.8%) for GD. Conclusions Although GD had relatively mild toxicity, the regimen—as administered in this study—should not be considered a standard treatment of perioperative chemotherapy for high-risk STS in the extremities and trunk. Clinical trial registration jRCTs031180003.

Background: Althoughpre-emptive therapy with oral tetracycline, moisturizer, sunscreen and topical corticosteroid isuseful for preventing acneiform eruption (AfE) due to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitors, no studies have examinedthe efficacy of topical corticosteroids themselves, or investigated the optimal strength of the corticosteroid for treating facial AfE (FAfE).Patients and Methods: Screened patients with RAS wild-typecolorectal cancerstarted pre-emptive therapy with oral minocycline and moisturizeron initiation of cetuximab or panitumumab therapy. Patients who developed grade 1 or 2 FAfEwere randomly allocated to two groups:a ranking-down (RD) group,started with a very strong corticosteroid, and serially ranked down every 2 weeks unless FAfE exacerbated, and a ranking-up (RU) group, started with a weak corticosteroid and serially ranked up at exacerbation. FAfE grade, patient quality of life, and adverse events (AEs) with topical corticosteroid were evaluated every 2 weeks.The primary endpoint was the total number of times grade 2 or higher FAfEidentified in thecentral review of the 8-weektreatment period.Results: No significant differences in total numbers of grade 2 or higher FAfE and inAEs caused by topical corticosteroids were observedbetweengroups during the 8-week. Incidence of grade 2 or higher FAfEwas tended to lower inthe RD group during the first 2 weeks.Conclusion: Considering long-term care of FAfE, the RU regimen appears suitableand should be considered the standard treatment for FAfEdue to EGFR inhibitor therapy. Trial registration: UMIN Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN000024113)

Background The International Myeloma Working Group response criteria require two consecutive assessments of paraprotein levels. We conducted an exploratory analysis to evaluate whether a single response assessment could be a substitute for the International Myeloma Working Group criteria using data from JCOG1105, a randomized phase II study on melphalan, prednisolone and bortezomib. Methods Of 91 patients with transplant-ineligible newly diagnosed multiple myeloma, 79 patients were included. We calculated the kappa coefficient to evaluate the degree of agreement between the International Myeloma Working Group criteria and the single response assessment. Results Based on the International Myeloma Working Group criteria, 11 (13.9%), 20 (25.3%), 36 (45.6%) and 12 (15.2%) patients had stringent complete response/complete response, very good partial response, partial response and stable disease, respectively. Based on the single response assessment, 17 (21.5%), 19 (24.1%), 35 (44.3%) and 8 (10.1%) patients had stringent complete response/complete response, very good partial response, partial response and stable disease, respectively. The kappa coefficient was 0.76 (95% confidence interval, 0.65–0.88), demonstrating good agreement. The single response assessment was not inferior to the International Myeloma Working Group criteria in the median progression-free survival (3.8 and 2.9 years) in stringent complete response/complete response patients, suggesting that the single response assessment was not an overestimation. Conclusions The single response assessment could be a substitute for the current International Myeloma Working Group criteria for transplant-ineligible newly diagnosed multiple myeloma., The single response assessment could be a substitute for the current International Myeloma Working Group criteria with two consecutive assessments in patients with transplant-ineligible newly diagnosed multiple myeloma.

Gastrectomy with omentectomy and D2 lymph node dissection is the current standard procedure for locally advanced gastric cancer. However, some retrospective studies have reported that omentectomy increased post-operative abdominal complications but provided no survival advantage over omentum preservation. Therefore, we plan a randomized controlled phase III trial to confirm the non-inferiority of omentum preservation compared with omentectomy in patients with cT3 (SS) or cT4a (SE) gastric cancer. A total of 1050 patients will be enrolled from 62 institutions over a period of 6.5 years. The primary end point is relapse-free survival, and the secondary end points are overall survival, blood loss, operation time and adverse events. This trial has been registered at the UMIN Clinical Trials Registry as UMIN000036253.

Recent studies have found a negative impact of postoperative complications on long-term survival outcomes, but it has not been confirmed by data obtained from a prospective study with a large sample size. This study investigated the impact of postoperative complications on long-term survival outcomes, and considered the optimal definition of complication, using data from JCOG1001, which compared bursectomy and non-bursectomy for patients with cT3/4a locally advanced gastric cancer. This study included 1191 of 1204 patients enrolled in the JCOG1001 trial. Complications were graded by Clavien–Dindo (C-D) classification. Impact of the grade (≥ C-D grade II or ≥ grade III) or type (any or intra-abdominal infectious) of complication on survival outcome was evaluated by univariate and multivariable analyses using the Cox proportional hazard model. The incidence of any ≥ C-D grade II and ≥ grade III complication was 23.0% and 9.7%, respectively, and that of ≥ grade II and ≥ grade III intra-abdominal infectious complication was 13.4% and 6.9%, respectively. Multivariable analysis showed all four definitions of complications were independent prognostic factors for overall survival. Conversely, only any ≥ C-D grade III complication was found to be an independent prognostic factor for relapse-free survival (hazard ratio, 1.445; 95% confidence interval, 1.026–2.036; P = 0.035). Postoperative complications adversely affect the long-term survival outcomes of patients with cT3/4a gastric cancer. Any ≥ C-D grade III complication seems to be the most suitable definition of complication for predicting negative long-term survival outcomes.

Objectives The aim of JCOG1610 (randomized controlled phase III trial) was to confirm the superiority of preoperative denosumab to curettage with adjuvant local therapy for patients with giant cell tumor of bone without possible post-operative large bone defect. Methods The primary endpoint was relapse-free survival and the total sample size was set at 106 patients. Patient accrual began in October 2017. However, the accrual was terminated in December 2020 due to a recommendation from the Data and Safety Monitoring Committee because of poor patient accrual. Now, we report the descriptive results obtained in this study. Results A total of 18 patients had been registered from 13 Japanese institutions at the time of termination on December 2020. Eleven patients were assigned to Arm A (curettage and adjuvant local therapy) and 7 to Arm B (preoperative denosumab, curettage and adjuvant local therapy). Median follow-up period was 1.6 (range: 0.5–2.8) years. Protocol treatment was completed in all but one patient in Arm A who had a pathological fracture before surgery. All patients in Arm B were treated with five courses of preoperative denosumab. Relapse-free survival proportions in Arm A and B were 90.0% (95% confidence interval: 47.3–98.5) and 100% (100–100) at 1 year, and 60.0% (19.0–85.5) and 62.5% (14.2–89.3) at 2 years, respectively [hazard ratio (95% confidence interval): 1.51 (0.24–9.41)]. Conclusion In terms of relapse-free survival, the superiority of preoperative denosumab was not observed in patients with giant cell tumor of bone without possible post-operative large bone defect.

TPS474 Background: Supraclavicular lymph nodes (SCLN) have been regarded as regional nodes of thoracic esophageal cancer in Japan and resected along with cervical paraesophageal lymph nodes as a cervical part of the standard three-field dissection, while the involvement of SCLN is regarded as distant metastasis in Western countries. However, there is no clear evidence that supports or rejects prophylactic SCLN dissection. As postoperative SCLN metastasis can often be managed by either surgery or chemoradiotherapy at the time of relapse, routine prophylactic SCLN dissection may not be essential. Here we conduct the clinical trial to confirm the non-inferiority of esophagectomy with D2 lymphadenectomy except for SCLN to standard D2 lymphadenectomy in terms of overall survival (OS) for patients with resectable upper or middle thoracic esophageal cancer. Methods: Eligibility criteria include the followings; upper or middle thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, adenosquamous carcinoma, or basaloid cell carcinoma with clinical stage I, II, III, or IVA (except for T4) based on the 8th UICC-TNM, age 18 to 80, ECOG performance status 0 or 1, and adequate organ function. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (cisplatin plus 5- fluorouracil or docetaxel plus cisplatin plus 5-fluorouracil) is allowed, but preoperative chemoradiotherapy is not allowed. Patients are randomly assigned to the following two arms using the minimization method with a random component to balance institution, clinical stage (Stage I (T1N0M0) versus Stage I (T1N1M0)/II/III/IVA), age (76 or older versus 75 or younger), and tumor location (upper thoracic versus middle thoracic). Patients undergo either esophagectomy with standard D2 dissection (Arm A) or esophagectomy with D2 lymphadenectomy except for SCLN (Arm B). The primary endpoint is OS in all randomized patients. The secondary endpoints are relapse-free survival, the incidence of perioperative and delayed complications, the incidence of SCLN recurrence, the incidence of salvage cervical treatment, the proportion of synchronous cervical and abdominal procedure, and operation time and the number of operating surgeons. A sample size of 456 patients would be required to observe 147 events to demonstrate the non-inferiority of Arm B in terms of OS, with a one-sided alpha of 5%, power of 70%, an accrual period of 5 years, a follow-up period of 3 years, and a non-inferiority margin of 6% at 3-year OS, assuming the expected 3-year OS of Arm A and Arm B are 80% and 81%, respectively. The planned sample size was set at 480 patients (240 patients per arm). This trial was registered at the Japan Registry of Clinical Trials (jRCT) as study number jRCT1030220248 and started in August 2022. Clinical trial information: jRCT1030220248 .

Background There is currently no standard prognostic model optimized for the patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) treated with upfront intensive immunochemotherapy including autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT). The Kyoto Prognostic Index (KPI) has been proposed as a novel prognostic model for DLBCL, which can accurately identify especially high-risk patients. In this study, we investigated the prognostic value of the KPI in JCOG0908 trial in which higher-risk DLBCL patients defined by the conventional International Prognostic Index (IPI) were treated with upfront high dose therapy followed by ASCT. Methods Fifty-eight patients with DLBCL, not otherwise specified, enrolled in JCOG0908 and confirmed by the central pathological review were analyzed. The Kaplan–Meier method was used to estimate the probabilities of overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). We compared the discrimination ability of the KPI with that of the IPI. Results According to KPI, 3-year OS and PFS rates were 86.7% and 76.7% in low-intermediate, 73.3% and 60.0% in high-intermediate, and 61.5% and 46.2% in high-risk group. According to IPI, 3-year OS and PFS rates were 75.0% and 50.0% in low-intermediate, 82.9% and 74.3% in high-intermediate, and 63.6% and 54.5% in high-risk group. The concordance-indices of KPI and IPI were 0.642 and 0.580 for OS and 0.606 and 0.606 for PFS. Conclusions The KPI may be a suitable predictor of outcome than the IPI for patients with higher-risk DLBCL treated with upfront intensive immunochemotherapy including ASCT.

A good cosmetic outcome has been defined as an important endpoint in breast-conserving therapy (BCT). Various evaluation methods have been studied, but the optimal method has yet to be identified. The present supplementary analysis of JCOG0906 focused on comparing evaluation methods for breast cosmetic outcomes following hypofractionated whole breast irradiation (HFWBI) to examine whether a computer-software (the Breast Cancer Conservative Treatment cosmetic results [BCCT. core])-based program evaluation (CE) can be used for Asian women in clinical trials of BCT.Of 306 women, 292 underwent institutional evaluation (IE) for breast cosmetic outcomes before (pre) and 3 years after (post) HFWBI using a 4-point scale (excellent/good/fair/poor), and they were evaluated by CE and a central panel evaluation (PE) on the same scale using 292 pairs of pre/post-HFWBI photographs. PE was performed twice by consensus of the same two experts with a 3-year interval. CE was assessed individually by two radiation oncologists, an expert and a non-expert. Intra-observer variability and inter-observer variability were calculated using the kappa (k) and weighted kappa (wk) statistics.The agreement between the first and second PE using pre/post-HFWBI photographs was moderate (k = 0.60, wk = 0.64. k = 0.53, wk = 0.60). The agreement between the expert and non-expert on CE was substantial (k = 0.72, wk = 0.76. k = 0.72, wk = 0.77). The inter-observer variability of CE was smaller than the intra-observer variability of PE.CE with BCCT. core was considered a reproducible and an appropriate evaluation method for Asian women in clinical trials of BCT, when breast cosmetic changes were compared between pre/post therapy.

Background: Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy can occur in the right and left hand. Studies on prevention treatments for chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy have largely adopted either self-controlled designs or parallel designs to compare two preventive treatments. When three treatment options (two experimental treatments and a control treatment) are available, both designs can be extended. However, no clinical trials have adopted a self-controlled design to compare three prevention treatments for chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy. The incomplete block crossover design for more than two treatments can be extended to compare three treatments in the self-controlled design. In simple extension, some of the participants receive two experimental treatments in both hands; however, it may be difficult to administer different experimental treatments in both hands for practical reasons, such as a concern for the different types of unexpected adverse events. This study proposes a design and analysis method appropriate for the situation where only one experimental treatment is provided to each participant. Methods: We assume clinical trials to compare each of the two experimental treatments ( E1 and E2) with the control treatment ( C) and between two experimental treatments only when both experimental treatments are superior to the control treatment. We propose a self-controlled design, which equally randomizes to four arms to adjust for the dominant hand effect: Arm 1: E1 for right hand, C for left hand; Arm 2: C for right hand, E1 for left hand; Arm 3: E2 for right hand, C for left hand; and Arm 4: C for right hand, E2 for left hand. We compare operating characteristics of the proposed design with the three-arm parallel design in which the same treatment is performed in both hands by participants. We also assess three proposed analysis methods for comparisons between experimental treatments in the self-controlled design under several conditions of correlations between right and left hands using simulation studies. Results: The simulation studies showed that the proposed design was more powerful than the three-arm parallel design when correlation was 0.3 or higher. For comparisons between experimental treatments, the methods based on the regression model, including the outcome of hands with C as a covariate, had the highest power under modest to high correlation among the analysis methods in the self-controlled design. Conclusion: The proposed design can improve the power for comparing between two experimental treatments and the control treatment. Our design is useful in situations where it is undesirable for participants to receive different experimental treatments in both hands for practical reasons.

Background Previous studies have suggested that patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) are still at a high risk of developing second primary malignancies (SPMs) after definitive therapies. We evaluated the development of SPMs and explored its risk factors in patients with clinical T1bN0 ESCC. Methods JCOG0502 prospectively compared esophagectomy with definitive chemo-radiotherapy for clinical T1bN0 ESCC. Here, we reviewed all JCOG0502 patients’ data for SPMs and investigated the risk factors for SPMs using uni-variable and multivariable analyses by Fine and Gray model. Results Among 379 enrolled patients, 213 underwent esophagectomy and 166 received chemo-radiotherapy. Patient characteristics were male (85%); median age [63 (range 41–75) years; location of the primary tumor (upper/middle/lower thoracic esophagus, 11%/63%/27%, respectively]; alcohol consumption history (79%); smoking history (66%); prevalence of no/several/many/unknown Lugol-voiding lesions (LVLs) (45%/36%/8%/11%, respectively). In a median follow-up of 7.1 years, 118 SPMs occurred in 99 (26%) patients. Cumulative incidences of SPMs after 3, 5, and 10 years were 9%, 15%, and 36%, respectively. The most common primary tumor sites were the head and neck (35%), stomach (20%) and lungs (14%). In multivariable analyses, compared to no LVLs, several LVLs [hazard ratio (HR) 2.24, 95% confidential interval (CI) 1.32–3.81] and many LVLs (HR 2.88, 95% CI 1.27–6.52) were significantly associated with the development of SPMs. Sixteen patients died due to the SPMs. Conclusion The incidence of SPMs was high. The presence of LVLs, which was a predictive factor for SPMs, may be useful for surveillance planning.

OBJECTIVES To identify risk factors associated with extrathymic malignancy-related mortality after thymic epithelial tumour resection. METHODS The Japanese Association for Research on the Thymus database registered the records of 2835 patients collected from 32 Japanese institutions from 1991 to 2010. The cumulative incidence function of death due to extrathymic malignancies or recurrence was calculated, with other causes of death as competing risks. Relevant risk factors associated with extrathymic malignancy-related deaths in patients with thymoma were evaluated using the Fine and Gray model. RESULTS In total, 2701 patients were eligible for the analysis (thymoma, 2374; thymic carcinoma, 273; thymic neuroendocrine tumour, 54). The median follow-up period was 4.6 years. The cumulative incidence function of death due to extrathymic malignancies at 10 years was 2.2% (3.2% due to recurrence) in patients with thymoma, 1.6% (38.6% due to recurrence) in patients with thymic carcinoma and 0% (36.6% due to recurrence) in patients with thymic neuroendocrine tumour. In the multivariable analysis, age (every 10 years) at thymectomy [hazard ratio (HR) 2.19, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.53–3.14; P CONCLUSIONS Continued management and early detection of extrathymic malignancies may improve survival of patients with thymoma who are male, of advanced age, or have previous malignancies. Prospective studies are required to further investigate the management of extrathymic malignancies.

JCOG9801, a randomized phase III trial, reported that vincristine, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin and prednisone (VCAP); doxorubicin, ranimustine and prednisone (AMP); and vindesine, etoposide, carboplatin and prednisone (VECP) (VCAP-AMP-VECP; mLSG15) showed superior clinical outcomes when compared to cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisone every 2 weeks (CHOP-14; mLSG19) in patients with untreated aggressive adult T-cell leukaemia-lymphoma (ATL). To identify patients who require VCAP-AMP-VECP, we conducted a supplementary analysis of JCOG9801. Overall, 105 patients were included and categorized into low- (n = 44), intermediate- (n = 54) and high-risk (n = 7) groups according to the age-adjusted ATL prognostic index (ATL-PI). We excluded the high-risk group due to small numbers of patients. VCAP-AMP-VECP did not show any superior trend for overall survival (OS) in the low-risk group (hazard ratio: 1·04; 95% confidence interval: 0·54-2·04). Better OS was observed in the intermediate-risk group treated with VCAP-AMP-VECP (hazard ratio: 0·65; 95% confidence interval: 0·36-1·19). In the intermediate-risk group, the VCAP-AMP-VECP arm showed higher complete response rates than the CHOP-14 arm (44·0% vs. 13·8%). The VCAP-AMP-VECP arm in both risk groups exhibited grade 4 thrombocytopenia, while grade 4 neutropenia was only observed in the intermediate-risk group. VCAP-AMP-VECP remains suitable for the intermediate-risk group, whereas its benefits appear modest in the low-risk group.

The Consortium to Inform Molecular and Practical Approaches to CNS Tumor Taxonomy (cIMPACT-NOW) update 3 recommends that histologic grade II and III IDH-wildtype diffuse astrocytic gliomas that harbor EGFR amplification, the combination of whole chromosome 7 gain and whole chromosome 10 loss (7 + /10 -), or TERT promoter (pTERT) mutations should be considered as glioblastomas (GBM), World Health Organization grade IV. In this retrospective study, we examined the utility of molecular classification based on pTERT status and copy-number alterations (CNAs) in IDH-wildtype lower grade gliomas (LGGs, grade II, and III). The impact on survival was evaluated for the pTERT mutation and CNAs, including EGFR gain/amplification, PTEN loss, CDKN2A homozygous deletion, and PDGFRA gain/amplification. We analyzed 46 patients with IDH-wildtype/pTERT-mutant (mut) LGGs and 85 with IDH-wildtype/pTERT-wildtype LGGs. EGFR amplification and a combination of EGFR gain and PTEN loss (EGFR + /PTEN -) were significantly more frequent in pTERT-mut patients (p 0.0001). Cox regression analysis showed that the pTERT mutation was a significant predictor of poor prognosis (hazard ratio [HR] 2.79, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.55-4.89, p = 0.0008), but neither EGFR amplification nor EGFR + /PTEN - was an independent prognostic factor in IDH-wildtype LGGs. PDGFRA gain/amplification was a significant poor prognostic factor in IDH-wildtype/pTERT-wildtype LGGs (HR 2.44, 95% CI 1.09-5.27, p = 0.03, Cox regression analysis). The IDH-wildtype LGGs with either pTERT-mut or PDGFRA amplification were mostly clustered with GBM by DNA methylation analysis. Thus, our study suggests that analysis of pTERT mutation status is necessary and sufficient to diagnose IDH-wildtype diffuse astrocytic gliomas with molecular features of glioblastoma. The PDGFRA status may help further delineate IDH-wildtype/pTERT-wildtype LGGs. Methylation profiling showed that IDH-wildtype LGGs without molecular features of GBM were a heterogeneous group of tumors. Some of them did not fall into existing categories and had significantly better prognoses than those clustered with GBM.

This study aimed to examine the risk factors for surgical site infection (SSI) and the association of that with recurrence in JCOG0212. The results for secondary endpoints showed that compared with the mesorectal excision (ME) alone group, ME with lateral lymph node dissection (LLND) group showed significantly longer operative time and significantly higher blood loss. These results suggested that LLND was a risk factor for SSI. All 701 patients registered in JCOG0212 were analyzed in this study. Wound infection was defined as incisional/deep SSI, and pelvic abscess and anastomotic leakage were defined as organ/space SSI. The risk factors for the incidence of SSI and the effect of SSI on relapse-free survival (RFS) were investigated. Multivariable odds ratio of Grade 2 or higher all SSI was 0.58 [95% Confidence interval: 0.36–0.93] for female (vs. male) and that of Grade 2 or higher incisional/deep SSI was 2.24 [1.03–4.86] for blood infusion. For RFS, patients with Grade 3 or higher all SSI showed poor prognosis (multivariable hazard ratio: 1.66 [1.03–2.68]). LLND is not significant factor for the incidence of all SSI. Male sex might be a risk factor of Grade 2 or higher SSI, and blood transfusion is a possible risk factor of Grade 2 or higher incisional/deep SSI. Grade 3 or higher all SSI might be a significant worse prognostic factor for lower rectal cancer.

Thoracoscopic esophagectomy (TE) is considered the standard surgery for esophageal cancer because of its superiority over open esophagectomy (OE) in terms of short-term outcomes. However, few prospective multicenter studies have evaluated its long-term survival after TE. This study aimed to investigate whether the prognosis for patients with T1bN0M0 esophageal cancer after TE is not inferior to OE using data from the Japan Clinical Oncology Group Study (JCOG0502), a prospective multicenter trial comparing esophagectomy with chemoradiotherapy. Data of patients in JCOG0502 after esophagectomy were used to compare the overall survival (OS) and relapse-free survival (RFS) after OE versus TE. OE or TE was selected at the surgeon’s discretion. A hazard ratio and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated via Cox proportional-hazards model. Of the 210 patients who underwent esophagectomy, 109 underwent OE, whereas 101 underwent TE. The 5-year OS was 88.9% after OE and 85.0% after TE. The hazard ratio of TE for OS was 1.53 (95% CI, 0.84–2.78; p = 0.16) and 1.10 (95% CI, 0.52–2.35; p = 0.80) in the univariable and multivariable analyses, respectively. The 5-year RFS was 85.3% after OE and 79.1% after TE. The hazard ratio of TE for RFS was 1.39 (95% CI, 0.81–2.38; p = 0.23) and 0.88 (95% CI, 0.44–1.74; p = 0.70) in the univariable and multivariable analyses, respectively. The prognosis for patients with T1bN0M0 esophageal cancer after TE was not inferior to OE.

Background The UK Myeloma Research Alliance Risk Profile (MRP) (Lancet Haematol 2019) was developed as a prognostic score for transplant-ineligible, newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (NDMM) patients. MRP consists of widely available clinical parameters, such as WHO performance status (PS), International Staging System (ISS), age, and C-reactive protein (CRP) level. However, as MRP was developed in clinical trials in which immunomodulatory drugs were used as induction regimens, its applicability to patients who were treated with bortezomib (BOR)-based regimens remains elusive. We conducted an exploratory analysis to assess the utility of MRP using data from JCOG1105, a randomized phase II trial in which two modified MPBs (melphalan, prednisolone, and BOR) were compared (Br J Haematol 2021). Furthermore, the clinical factors associated with poor outcomes among patients included in JCOG1105 were evaluated. Methods The data of 88 transplant-ineligible patients with NDMM enrolled in JCOG1105 between July 2013 and April 2016 were analyzed. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in each MRP risk were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared using the log-rank test. Clinical parameters associated with poor prognosis were evaluated in univariable and multivariable Cox regression analyses. Results The baseline characteristics of the 88 patients were as follows: a median age of 72 (range, 65–79) years, 20 (23%) had PS ≥2, 13 (15%) with LDH > upper normal limit (UNL), and median CRP level of 1 mg/L (range, 0–140). Forty-six (52%) and 16 (18%) patients had ISS II and III disease, respectively. MRP was evaluated in 87 patients (excluding one patient with missing data on CRP levels) and was classified as low (n=51), medium (n=16), and high risk (n=20). With a median follow-up of 47.3 (range, 10.4-71.1) months, the 3-year PFS and OS of all 88 patients were 20.5% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 13–29%) and 81.8% (95% CI: 72–88%), respectively. In patients with MRP low, medium, and high risk, the outcomes were as follows: a 3-year PFS of 26%, 19%, and 10% and a 3-year OS of 84%, 69%, and 85%, respectively. A higher MRP risk was not significantly associated with a poorer PFS and OS. In multivariable analysis, LDH > UNL (Hazard Ratio [HR]: 4.73, 95% CI: 1.71–13.13) and β2MG ≥ 3.5 mg/dL (HR: 2.86, 95% CI: 1.20–6.81) were significantly associated with poor OS. PS ≥2 was not associated with poor OS (HR: 0.85, 95% CI: 0.33–2.23). Conclusion Higher MRP risk scores were not significantly associated with poor outcomes in patients who received MPB in this exploratory analysis. Large-scale studies aimed at evaluating the applicability of MRP in NDMM patients treated with BOR-based regimens are needed.

In event-driven clinical trials comparing the survival functions of two groups, the number of events required to achieve the desired power is usually calculated using the Freedman formula or the Schoenfeld formula. Then, the sample size and the study duration derived from the required number of events are considered; however, their combination is not uniquely determined. In practice, various combinations are examined considering the enrollment speed, study duration, and the cost of enrollment. However, effective methods for visually representing their relationships and evaluating the uncertainty in study duration are insufficient. We developed a graphical approach for examining the relationship between sample size and study duration. To evaluate the uncertainty in study duration under a given sample size, we also derived the probability density function of the study duration and a method for updating the probability density function according to the observed number of events (ie, information time). The proposed methods are expected to improve the operation and management of clinical trials with a time-to-event endpoint.

OBJECTIVE This is an ancillary study of a multi-institutional randomized non-inferiority phase III trial of accelerated fractionation (AF) versus standard fractionation (SF) radiation therapy for T1-2N0M0 glottic cancer (JCOG0701). Biopsy specimens of tumors from the patients enrolled in the JCOG0701 are collected and the association between clinical outcomes and histopathologic features such as expression of epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM), p53, and p16 were investigated. METHODS Five slices of undyed slides from biopsy specimens were sent to the National Cancer Center Hospital and all the specimens were assessed for the expression of EpCAM, p53, and p16. The primary objective was to investigate the association between 3-year progression-free survival (PFS) and expression of EpCAM, p53, and p16. RESULTS A total of 88 out of 370 patients were enrolled in this ancillary study. The 3-year PFS for tumors with strong expression of EpCAM was 70.6% (95% CI 43.1%-86.6%), while that of tumors without strong expression of EpCAM was 77.5% (95% CI 65.9%-85.5%) with no remarkable difference between groups (P = .67). Likewise, there was no significant difference in 3-year PFS between tumors regardless of p53 or p16 status. However, in a subgroup analysis for 17 patients with a strong expression of EpCAM, AF showed better 3-year PFS than SF (100% vs 54.5%, P = .07). CONCLUSIONS From the current study, it could not be concluded that EpCAM, p16, and p53 were prognostic factors for early-stage glottic cancer after primary radiation therapy. AF might be an appropriate fractionation for tumors with a strong expression of EpCAM. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE 3 Laryngoscope, 131:1522-1527, 2021.

TERT promoter mutations are commonly associated with 1p/19q codeletion in IDH-mutated gliomas. However, whether these mutations have an impact on patient survival independent of 1p/19q codeletion is unknown. In this study, we investigated the impact of TERT promoter mutations on survival in IDH-mutated glioma cases. Detailed clinical information and molecular status data were collected for a cohort of 560 adult patients with IDH-mutated gliomas. Among these patients, 279 had both TERT promoter mutation and 1p/19q codeletion, while 30 had either TERT promoter mutation (n = 24) or 1p/19q codeletion (n = 6) alone. A univariable Cox proportional hazard analysis for survival using clinical and genetic factors indicated that a Karnofsky performance status score (KPS) of 90 or 100, WHO grade II or III, TERT promoter mutation, 1p/19q codeletion, radiation therapy, and extent of resection (90–100%) were associated with favorable prognosis (p TERT promoter mutation had a significantly favorable prognostic impact (hazard ratio = 0.421, p = 0.049), while 1p/19q codeletion did not have a significant impact (hazard ratio = 0.648, p = 0.349). Analyses incorporating patient clinical and genetic information were further conducted to identify subgroups showing the favorable prognostic impact of TERT promoter mutation. Among the grade II-III glioma patients with a KPS score of 90 or 100, those with IDH-TERT co-mutation and intact 1p/19q (n = 17) showed significantly longer survival than those with IDH mutation, wild-type TERT, and intact 1p/19q (n = 185) (5-year overall survival, 94% and 77%, respectively; p = 0.032). Our results demonstrate that TERT promoter mutation predicts favorable prognosis independent of 1p/19q codeletion in IDH-mutated gliomas. Combined with its adverse effect on survival among IDH-wild glioma cases, the bivalent prognostic impact of TERT promoter mutation may help further refine the molecular diagnosis and prognostication of diffuse gliomas.

Objective To evaluate the safety and efficacy of hypofractionated whole breast irradiation for Asian women after breast-conserving surgery. This is an updated report with 5-year follow-up. Methods and materials Asian women who had invasive breast cancer with clinical tumor size ≤3 cm, pN0-1c and negative inked margins were enrolled. Hypofractionated whole breast irradiation of 42.56 Gy/16 fractions was delivered, and boost irradiation of 10.64 Gy/4 fractions was added when the surgical margin was ≤5 mm. The primary endpoint was the proportion of grade ≥ 2 late adverse reactions within 3 years. Secondary endpoints included early adverse events, overall survival, disease-free survival, ipsilateral breast relapse-free survival, late adverse reactions and cosmetic outcome. Toxicities were evaluated using CTCAE ver3.0. Cosmetic outcomes were assessed using a 4-point scale and CTCAE ver3.0 for hyper/hypopigmentation, breast nipple/areolar deformity and breast volume/deformity. Results Between February 2010 and August 2012, 312 patients were enrolled, and 306 received hypofractionated whole breast irradiation. Median follow-up was 70.5 (range 7.6–88.9) months. The proportion of grade ≥ 2 late adverse reactions within 3 years was 4.3% (90% confidence interval 2.5–6.7%). Grade 2 early adverse events occurred in 38 (12.4%); none had grade 3/4. Five-year overall survival, disease-free survival and ipsilateral breast relapse-free survival were 98.7, 95.4 and 98.0%, respectively. Of the 304 evaluable patients, 29 (9.5%; 95% confidence interval 6.5–13.4%) had grade 2/3 late adverse reactions; none had grade 4/5. At 5 years, 70/289 (24.2%) showed any worsening of breast cosmetic changes. Conclusions Hypofractionated whole breast irradiation is considered a standard treatment for Asian women with margin-negative invasive breast cancer after breast-conserving surgery.

Thymic carcinoma is a rare malignant disease and standard treatment for advanced or metastatic thymic carcinoma previously treated with platinum-based chemotherapy has not been established. Lenvatinib is a novel multi-targeted inhibitor of VEGFR, FGFR, RET, c-Kit, and other kinases. The aim of this trial was to assess the activity and safety of lenvatinib as a second-line treatment in thymic carcinoma.This single-arm, phase 2 trial done in eight institutions in Japan (five cancer centres, two medical university hospitals, and one public hospital) enrolled patients with pathologically confirmed unresectable advanced or metastatic thymic carcinoma that progressed following at least one platinum-based chemotherapy. Key inclusion criteria were age 20 years or older, at least one measurable lesion as defined by the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors version 1.1, and an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0 or 1. Patients received 24 mg of lenvatinib orally once daily in 4-week cycles until disease progression or occurrence of unacceptable adverse events. The primary endpoint was objective response rate evaluated at the data cutoff date (Feb 22, 2019), by independent central review in the intention-to-treat population. This trial is registered on JMACCT, JMA-IIA00285, and on UMIN-CTR, UMIN000026777.Between April 21, 2017, and Feb 22, 2018, 42 patients were enrolled and all patients were included in the activity and safety analysis. The median follow-up period was 15·5 months (IQR 13·1-17·5). The objective response rate was 38% (90% CI 25·6-52·0, p0·0001). 16 (38%) of 42 patients had a partial response and 24 (57%) had stable disease. The most frequent grade 3 treatment-related adverse events were hypertension (27 [64%]) and palmar-plantar erythrodysaesthesia syndrome (three [7%]). No patient died from adverse events.The activity and safety of lenvatinib in patients with advanced or metastatic thymic carcinoma was confirmed. These results suggest that lenvatinib could become a standard treatment option for patients with previously treated advanced or metastatic thymic carcinoma.Center for Clinical Trials, Japan Medical Association.

238 Background: Neoadjuvant treatment is the standard care for locally advanced esophageal squamous cell cancer (ESCC). JCOG1109 (UMIN000009482) compared the doublet and triplet of chemotherapy and chemoradiotherapy as neoadjuvant treatment. Methods: Eligible patients (pts) with ESCC of clinical stage IB, II, III (excluding T4) (UICC 7th) from 44 institutions were randomized 1:1:1 to neoadjuvant CF (cisplatin 80 mg/m2 on day1 plus 5-FU 800 mg/m2 on days 1-5 Q3W/2course), DCF (docetaxel 70 mg/m2 on day 1, cisplatin 70 mg/m2 on day1, plus 5-FU 750 mg/m2 on days 1-5 Q3W/3 course), or CF-RT (cisplatin 75 mg/m2 on day 1 plus 5-FU 1000 mg/m2 on days 1-4 Q4W/2course, radiation 41.4 Gy/23 fr). Primary endpoint was overall survival (OS), and secondary endpoints included progression-free survival (PFS), %R0 resection, %objective response by neoadjuvant therapy, %pathological complete response (pCR) and safety. Differences in OS was assessed in the ITT using the stratified log-rank test. The data cutoff date for the analysis was July 20, 2021. Results: Of 601 pts 199 CF, 202 DCF, and 200 CF-RT were enrolled from December 5, 2012 to July 20, 2018, respectively. Among 601 pts, 88.2% were male, median (range) age was 65 (30-75), clinical stage III (nonT4) pts were 62.6%. Median follow-up time (range) was 4.2 years (y) (0-8.5). Median OS in CF, DCF, and CF-RT arm were 4.6 y, not reached (NR), and 6.0y, and 3-year OS was 62.6%, 72.1%, and 68.3%, respectively (stratified log-rank test: p = 0.006 for CF vs. DCF and p = 0.12 for CF vs. CF-RT). By stratified Cox regression analysis for OS, hazard ratios (HR) [95% CI] was 0.68 [0.50–0.92] for CF vs. DCF and 0.84 [0.63–1.12] for CF vs. CF-RT. Median PFS in CF, DCF, and CF-RT arm were 2.7 y, NR, and 5.3 y, and 3-year PFS was 47.7%, 61.8%, and 58.5%, respectively. R0 resection was achieved in 168 (84.4%), 173 (85.6%), and 175 (87.5%), and pCR was 4 (2.1%), 40 (19.8%), and 77 (38.5%), respectively. During neoadjuvant therapy, febrile neutropenia in CF, DCF, and CF-RT arm were 1.0%, 16.3% and 4.7%, and esophagitis (grade>3) were 1.0%, 1.0% and 8.9%, respectively. The treatment-related death was seen in 3 (1.5%), 4 (2.0%), and 2 (1.0%), in CF, DCF, and CF-RT arm, respectively. Conclusions: DCF significantly improved OS over CF as neoadjuvant therapy for locally advanced ESCC, with a manageable toxicity profile. DCF represents a new standard neoadjuvant treatment for ESCC. Clinical trial information: UMIN000009482.

Background Genetic alterations of FGFRs are known to play an important role in the proliferation, survival, and migration of cancer cells as well as tumor angiogenesis and drug resistance. E7090 is an orally available selective tyrosine kinase inhibitor for FGFR1-3. A global Phase 2 study of E7090 in subjects with unresectable advanced or metastatic cholangiocarcinoma harboring FGFR2 gene fusion is ongoing (NCT04238715). We recently reported FGFR alterations that are highly sensitive to E7090 using a high-throughput functional evaluation method called MANO method (Nakamura et al. npj Precision Oncology, in press), narrowing down the most promising FGFR alteration targets. Here, we designed a single-arm, open-label, investigator-initiated multicenter Phase 2 basket study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of E7090 in subjects with advanced or recurrent solid tumors harboring FGFR gene alterations, focusing on alterations identified by MANO method, as a sub-study under the nationwide large registry for rare cancers in Japan (MASTER KEY Project). Methods The key eligibility criteria are: 1) Histologically confirmed metastatic or locally advanced solid tumor; 2) Ineffective to or intolerant to first line treatment, or for which standard treatment is no longer available; and 3) Confirmed FGFR gene alterations via next-generation sequencing assays that are reimbursed by insurance. Subjects will receive E7090 140 mg orally once daily until disease progression or development of unacceptable toxicity. The primary endpoint is objective response rate (ORR) by independent central review (RECIST v1.1), and the secondary endpoints include ORR by investigator assessment, progression-free survival, overall survival, disease control rate, safety, duration of response, and time to response. For primary brain tumors, RANO criteria is also applied in assessment of response. The study enrolls approximately 45 subjects. (Clinical Trial Registry: jRCT2031210043)

JCOG0909 is a phase II trial of definitive chemoradiotherapy including salvage treatment for cStage II–III thoracic esophageal cancer; the radiation field for elective regional lymph node irradiation, which can affect patient outcome and adverse event, varied based on the primary tumor site, i.e., upper (Ut), middle (Mt), and lower thoracic (Lt) esophagus. The impact of different primary sites on the safety and efficacy of definitive chemoradiotherapy in JCOG0909 is not well characterized. Patients were categorized into three groups (Ut, Mt, and Lt) according to the primary tumor location. We compared acute adverse events during definitive chemoradiotherapy, complete response (CR) rate, 3-year progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) among the 3 groups. Out of the 96 patients enrolled in JCOG0909 between April 2010 and August 2014, 94 patients (16, 59, and 19 patients in the Ut, Mt, and Lt groups, respectively) were included in this exploratory analysis. The proportion of patients with cStage III was 25% in the Ut, 37% in the Mt, and 47% in the Lt group. Grade 3–4 leukopenia, neutropenia, and thrombocytopenia were more frequently observed in the Mt (66%, 54%, and 15%) and Lt groups (84%, 68%, and 16%) than in the Ut group (38%, 44%, and 0%). There was no significant between-group difference with respect to 3-year OS (73.3%, 77.9%, and 57.9%), 3-year PFS (60.0%, 59.3%, and 47.4%), or CR rate (62.5%, 62.7%, and 42.1%). In JCOG0909, the incidence of severe hematological toxicity had a trend toward higher in the Mt and Lt than the Ut esophageal cancer; however, no remarkable difference by primary sites was observed with respect to efficacy endpoints.

Background: Thymic carcinoma is a rare malignant disease, and standard treatment for advanced/metastatic thymic carcinoma previously treated with platinum-based chemotherapy has not been established. Several multi-targeted inhibitors have demonstrated efficacy as second-line treatment. Lenvatinib is a novel multi-targeted inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor, fibroblast growth factor receptor, RET, c-Kit, and other kinases. It has shown anti-tumour activity and manageable toxicity profiles and has been approved for thyroid cancer and hepatocellular cancer in several countries. Methods: The open-label, single-arm, multi-centre phase II trial investigated the efficacy and safety of lenvatinib in patients with advanced/metastatic thymic carcinoma. Patients with pathologically confirmed thymic carcinoma that progressed following at least one platinum-based chemotherapy were enrolled. Lenvatinib was administered orally once daily until disease progression or unacceptable adverse events. The primary endpoint was objective response rate (ORR) by independent central review. Secondary endpoints were disease control rate (DCR), progression free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and safety profiles. Findings: Between April 2017 and February 2018, 42 patients were enrolled from eight institutions in Japan. The median follow-up period was 15·5 months (interquartile range: 13·1–17·5 months). The ORR was 38·1% (90% confidence interval [CI]: 25·6–52·0%); 16 of 42 patients had partial response, while 24 of 42 patients had stable disease. The DCR was 95·2% (95% CI: 83·8–99·4%). The median duration of PFS was 9·3 months (95% CI: 7·7–13·9 months), and the median OS was not reached. The most frequent treatment-related adverse events were hypertension, diarrhoea, palmar-plantar erythrodysaesthesia syndrome, proteinuria, hypothyroidism, and reduced platelet count. Interpretation: The efficacy and safety of lenvatinib in patients with advanced/metastatic thymic carcinoma was confirmed. These encouraging results suggested that lenvatinib can become a standard treatment option for patients with previously treated advanced/metastatic thymic carcinoma. Trial Registration: This trial is registered as JMA-IIA00285 and UMIN000026777. Funding Statement: Lenvatinib was provided by Eisai Co., Ltd. (Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan) and distributed by SAROUTE Co., Ltd (Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan). The funder of the study was the Center for Clinical Trials, Japan Medical Association, which approved the study protocol and the final version but did not contribute to the clinical data collection. Declaration of Interests: JS reports honoraria from Chugai Pharmaceutical Co.. NY reports research grant from Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Taiho Pharmaceutical, Eisai, Eli Lilly, Quintiles, Astellas, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Novartis, Daiichi-Sankyo, Pfizer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Kyowa-Hakko Kirin, Bayer, Ono Pharmaceutical, Takeda, Janssen Pharma, MSD, Merck and GSK; and honoraria from Ono Pharmaceutical, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Eli Lilly, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sysmex; and personal fees for consulting from Eisai, Otsuka, Takeda, Boehringer Ingelheim and Cimic. YO* reports research grant from AstraZeneca, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ono Pharmaceutical, MSD, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Taiho Pharmaceutical, Kyorin, Novartis, Kissei, Ignyta, Janssen and LOXO; and personal fees from AstraZeneca, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ono Pharmaceutical, MSD, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Taiho Pharmaceutical, Kyorin, Novartis, Boehringer Ingelheim, Pfizer, Kyowa Hakko Kirin, Celtrion, Amgen and Nippon Kayaku. YO** reports research grant from Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. and Takeda, and received personal fees from MSD, Ono Pharmaceutical, Taiho Pharmaceutical, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Takeda, Eli Lilly, AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim and Pfizer. SN reports research grant from AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Eli Lilly, MSD and Merck, and personal fees from AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Eli Lilly, Taiho Pharmaceutical, Bristol-Myers Squibb, MSD, Boehringer Ingelheim, Novartis, Shionogi and Yakult. HM reports research grant from AstraZeneca, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Eli Lilly, Taiho Pharmaceutical, Takeda, Abbvie, Daiichi-Sankyo and IQvia; and personal fees from AstraZeneca, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Eli Lilly, Taiho Pharmaceutical, Ono Pharmaceutical, Boehringer Ingelheim, MSD and Takeda. MS reports research grant from AstraZeneca, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Ono Pharmaceutical, EPS international, Novartis, MSD, Takeda and Ignyta; and personal fees from AstraZeneca, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Ono Pharmaceutical, Taiho Pharmaceutical, Novartis and MSD. TK reports reserch grant from AstraZeneca, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Eli Lilly, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Merck; and personal fees from AstraZeneca, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Eli Lilly, Taiho Pharmaceutical, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Ono Pharmaceutical, MSD, Pfizer, Kyowa Hakko Kirin, Boehringer Ingelheim and Nippon Kayaku. KN reports personal fees from Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Taiho Pharmaceutical and Bayer. RM reports research grant from Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan. YK reports personal fees from Chugai Pharmaceutical Co.. All other authors declare no competing interests. YO*; Yuichiro Ohe, YO**; Yusuke Okuma Ethics Approval Statement: The study was approved by the institutional review board at each participating institution and was conducted in accordance with the principles of Declaration of Helsinki and Good Clinical Practice Guidelines. Written informed consent was obtained from all the patients before enrolment in the study.

JCOG9801, a randomized phase III trial, reported that vincristine, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin and prednisone (VCAP); doxorubicin, ranimustine and prednisone (AMP); and vindesine, etoposide, carboplatin and prednisone (VECP) (VCAP-AMP-VECP; mLSG15) showed superior clinical outcomes when compared to cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisone every 2 weeks (CHOP-14; mLSG19) in patients with untreated aggressive adult T-cell leukaemia-lymphoma (ATL). To identify patients who require VCAP-AMP-VECP, we conducted a supplementary analysis of JCOG9801. Overall, 105 patients were included and categorized into low- (n = 44), intermediate- (n = 54) and high-risk (n = 7) groups according to the age-adjusted ATL prognostic index (ATL-PI). We excluded the high-risk group due to small numbers of patients. VCAP-AMP-VECP did not show any superior trend for overall survival (OS) in the low-risk group (hazard ratio: 1·04; 95% confidence interval: 0·54-2·04). Better OS was observed in the intermediate-risk group treated with VCAP-AMP-VECP (hazard ratio: 0·65; 95% confidence interval: 0·36-1·19). In the intermediate-risk group, the VCAP-AMP-VECP arm showed higher complete response rates than the CHOP-14 arm (44·0% vs. 13·8%). The VCAP-AMP-VECP arm in both risk groups exhibited grade 4 thrombocytopenia, while grade 4 neutropenia was only observed in the intermediate-risk group. VCAP-AMP-VECP remains suitable for the intermediate-risk group, whereas its benefits appear modest in the low-risk group.

8571 Background: Carboplatin and etoposide is the current standard treatment for elderly extensive-disease small-cell lung cancer (ED-SCLC). The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of carboplatin and irinotecan compared with carboplatin and etoposide in elderly Japanese patients with ED-SCLC in a randomized phase II/III design. Methods: Eligibility included histologically or cytologically proven SCLC, no previous systemic chemotherapy, performance status of 0 to 2, and aged 71 years or older. Patients received carboplatin (AUC 5 mg/ml/min on day 1) and etoposide (80 mg/m2 on day 1 to 3) (CE) every 3 weeks for 4 cycles or carboplatin (AUC 4 mg/ml/min on day 1) and irinotecan (50 mg/m2 on day 1 and 8) (CI) every 3 weeks for 4 cycles. In the phase II part, the primary endpoint was the objective response rate of the CI arm and the secondary endpoint was adverse events. In the phase III part, the primary endpoint was overall survival, and the secondary endpoints were progression-free survival, objective response rate, adverse events, and symptom score. This study was designed to confirm the superiority of CI arm in terms of overall survival over CE arm. The median survival time with CI arm was expected to be increased by 3.5 months with hazard ratio (HR) of 0.750 (10.5 vs. 14.0 months). The sample size was set at 250 to observe the required number of events of 227 with one-sided alpha level of 0.05, a power of 70%, an accrual period of 6.5 years, and a follow-up period of 1.5 years. Results: Between December 2013 and June 2019, 258 patients were randomized (CE arm, 129 patients; CI arm, 129 patients). The median age was 75 (range, 71-90). The characteristics of the patients were well balanced between CE arm and CI arm. Overall survival, progression-free survival, and objective response rate of CE arm vs. CI arm were 12.0 (95% CI, 9.3-13.7) vs. 13.2 (95% CI, 11.1-14.6) months (HR, 0.848 (95% CI, 0.650-1.105)) (one-sided P=0.11), 4.4 (95% CI, 4.0-4.7) vs. 4.9 months (95% CI, 4.5-5.2) (HR, 0.851 (95% CI, 0.664-1.090)) (two-sided P=0.21), and 59.7% (77 of 129) vs. 64.3% (83 of 129), respectively. Symptom score showed no significant difference between the arms. Higher incidences of myelosuppression of grade 3 or worse occurred with CE arm, whereas higher incidences of gastrointestinal toxicity of grade 3 or worse occurred with CI arm. Three treatment-related deaths including lung infection in CE arm and lung infection and sepsis in CI arm were observed. Conclusions: Efficacy tended to be favorable in carboplatin and irinotecan arm, but there was no statistically significant difference. These results indicate that carboplatin and etoposide is a still standard treatment in elderly Japanese patients with ED-SCLC. Clinical trial information: 000012605.

TPS11580 Background: Soft tissue sarcomas (STS) are a rare type of malignancy, which comprises of a variety of histologies. Chemotherapy is the standard treatment for patients with advanced STS. Doxorubicin alone or in combination with ifosfamide is widely accepted as the first-line chemotherapy for advanced STS. While a combination with gemcitabine and docetaxel is regarded as a standard regimen of the second-line chemotherapy after failure of doxorubicin-based first-line regimen, the efficacy is not sufficient. Trabectedin, eribulin, and pazopanib are the candidates of the second-line chemotherapy for advanced STS, although there is no clear evidence showing which is better among those agents. The purpose of this clinical trial conducted by Bone and Soft Tissue Tumor Study Group of Japan Clinical Oncology Group (JCOG) is to determine the most promising regimen among trabectedin, eribulin and pazopanib as the test arm regimen in the future phase III trial of the second-line treatment for patients with advanced STS. Methods: The study, JCOG1802, is a multicenter, selection design, randomized phase II trial comparing trabectedin (1.2 mg/m2 IV, every 3 weeks), eribulin (1.4 mg/m2 IV, days 1 and 8, every 3 weeks) and pazopanib (800 mg PO, everyday) for patients with unresectable or metastatic STS refractory to doxorubicin-based first-line chemotherapy. Eligibility criteria include 16 year-old or older, unresectable and/or metastatic STS, an exacerbation within 6 months prior to registration, histological diagnosis of STS other than Ewing sarcoma, well-differentiated liposarcoma and myxoid liposarcoma, a history of chemotherapy for STS other than doxorubicin-based regimen, ECOG (Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group) performance status 0 to 2, and sufficient organ function. Primary endpoint is progression-free survival (PFS), and secondary endpoints include overall survival, disease-control rate, response rate, and adverse events. To select the most promising regimen in median PFS (3 months in the worst regimen and 4 months in the best regimen) with a probability of at least 80%, a total of 120 patients will be enrolled from 37 institutions in Japan. After JCOG1802, a subsequent phase III trial comparing the winner of this study and a combination of gemcitabine and docetaxel will be planned. The study was activated at December 5, 2019 and 22 of planned 120 patients have been enrolled as of February 15, 2021. Clinical trial information: jRCTs031190152.

TPS257 Background:Parallel-group controlled trial of esophagectomy versus chemoradiotherapy (JCOG0502) showed chemoradiotherapy (CRT) is considered as a standard treatment option for clinical-T1bN0M0 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) with organ preservation. However, locoregional recurrence after CRT occurs in 20% of patients and requires salvage treatment including salvage surgery, chemo(radio)therapy, and endoscopic resection. Salvage treatments can cause complications and treatment-related death. CRT with elective nodal irradiation (ENI) have been reported to reduce the locoregional recurrence of esophageal cancer. We conduct the clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy of modified CRT with ENI compared with CRT without ENI for the patients with cTbN0M0 ESCC. The primary purpose of this study is to investigate whether modified CRT with ENI reduces the locoregional recurrence that cannot be completely resected by salvage endoscopic resection and preserve esophagus without compromising overall survival. Methods:Eligibility criteria include the followings; thoracic ESCC, adenosquamous, or basaloid cell carcinoma with clinical-T1bN0M0, age 20 or older, performance status 0 or 1, adequate organ function, and patient who do not have a preference to receive a surgical resection as an initial therapy. Patients are randomly assigned to following two arms using the minimization method with a random component to balance institution, tumor length (≤4cm versus > 4cm), and age (≤65 years old versus > 65 years old). Patients in arm A receive CRT consisted of CDDP (70 mg/m2/day, days 1 and 29) and 5-FU (700 mg/m2/day, days 1-4 and 29-32, civ) with concurrent radiotherapy (60 Gy/30 fr without ENI). Patients in arm B receive CRT consisted of CDDP (75 mg/m2/day, days 1 and 29) and 5-FU (1000 mg/m2/day, days 1-4 and 29-32, civ) with concurrent radiotherapy (50.4 Gy/ 28 fr with ENI of 41.4 Gy/23 fr). Primary endpoint is major progression-free survival (MPFS), defined as the time from randomization to the date of death or disease progression except achieving curative resection by salvage endoscopic resection. We assumed 5-year MPFS with arm A to be 70% and expected a 10% improvement for arm B. The planned sample size was calculated as a total of 280 patients (140 patients per arm) with a one-sided alpha of 5%, power of 70%, an accrual period of 4 years, and a follow-up period of 5 years. This trial was activated in July 2020. The study was also registered at the Japan Registry of Clinical Trials (jRCT) as study number jRCTs031200067. Clinical trial information: jRCTs031200067.

162 Background: We have conducted randomized three-arm phase III trial comparing cisplatin plus 5-FU (CF) versus docetaxel plus CF (DCF) versus radiation with CF (CF-RT) as preoperative therapy for locally advanced esophageal cancer, which is on-follow-up for primary analysis planned in 2023 (JCOG 1109). This study aimed to evaluate the influence of preoperative therapies on perioperative complications and risk factors for perioperative complications after three-arm preoperative therapies. Methods: Patients with potentially resectable advanced thoracic esophageal cancer were randomly assigned to three preoperative therapies and followed by open or thoracoscopic esophagectomy with regional lymphadenectomy. Clinical data, surgical results, and perioperative complications in the patients received DCF and CF-RT were compared with those in the patients received CF. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to explore the risk factors of perioperative complications. Results: Between December 2012 and July 2018, 601 patients were randomized (CF/DCF/CF-RT; 199/202/200). Of 589 eligible patients, 546 patients underwent surgery (185/183/178). Patients` characteristics were not different between arms. Median number of harvested lymph node in patients received CF-RT was significantly lower than that in patients received CF (49 vs. 58; P < 0.0001). Incidence of ≥ Grade 2 perioperative complications in patients received DCF was lower than that in patients received CF (44.8% vs. 56.2%; P = 0.036). Incidence of ≥ Grade 2 chylothorax in patients received CF-RT was higher than that in patients received CF (5.1% vs. 1.1%; P = 0.032). Incidence of reoperation and intra-hospital death in patients received DCF and CF-RT did not differ from that in patients received CF. Multivariate analysis showed that operation time (≥ median) and open esophagectomy were independently associated with an increase in ≥ Grade 2 perioperative complications. CF-RT was associated with an increase in occurrence of ≥ Grade 2 chylothorax (Relative Risk 4.84; P = 0.043). Conclusions: Preoperative DCF and CF-RT does not increase the risk of perioperative complications and mortality when compared with standard preoperative CF therapy, but CF-RT increases the risk of chylothorax after esophagectomy for advanced thoracic esophageal cancer.

11504 Background: Our previous phase II study for high-grade soft tissue sarcomas (STS), JCOG0304, suggested long-term favorable effects of perioperative adriamycin plus ifosfamide (AI) on survival of STS patients. We have also reported in 2015 ASCO Annual Meeting that a phase II/III trial to confirm the non-inferiority of perioperative gemcitabine plus docetaxel (GD) to AI for high-grade STS (JCOG1306) had been started. We herein report the results of JCOG1306 at the early termination by the preplanned second interim analysis. Methods: Patients with operable, FNCLCC grade 2/3 STS primary tumor (T2bN0M0 or anyTN1M0, AJCC 7th edition) or first local recurrent tumor in the extremities or trunk were randomized to AI or GD. Chemotherapy consisted of adriamycin 60 mg/m2 plus ifosfamide 10 g/m2 for AI or gemcitabine 1,800 mg/m2 plus docetaxel 70 mg/m2 for GD. The treatments were repeated for 3 courses preoperatively and 2 courses postoperatively in a 3-week interval. The primary endpoint in phase III part was overall survival (OS). Planned sample size was 140 with a one-sided alpha of 0.1, power of 0.7 and a non-inferiority margin of 8% at 3-year OS, assuming 3-year OS of AI to be 85% and that of GD as 87%. The patient accrual has started in February 2014 and finished in September 2018. Results: A total of 143 patients were enrolled and included in the efficacy analysis. Seventy and 73 patients were assigned to AI and GD, respectively. At the second interim-analysis on December 2019, the estimated 2-year OS was 94.3 % (95% confidence interval (CI) 83.4–98.1) in AI and 91.6 % (80.9–96.4) in GD (hazard ratio (HR) 2.55, 95% CI 0.67–9.78). The estimated 2-year progression-free survival was 81.9 % (95% CI: 69.5–89.7) in AI and 64.0 % (51.1–74.4) in GD (HR 2.32, 95% CI 1.22–4.39). There were no treatment-related deaths in both groups. The most common Grade 3 or higher adverse events in AI were neutropenia (88.4%), anemia (49.3%), and febrile neutropenia (36.2%), whereas those in GD were neutropenia (79.5%), febrile neutropenia (17.8%), and alanine aminotransferase (9.6%). Based on the result of this analysis, the Data Monitoring and Safety Committee of JCOG recommended terminating the study since the point estimate of HR was above the pre-specified allowable HR of 1.61. Conclusions: Although the toxicities were modest in GD, non-inferiority of GD to AI could not be confirmed. In the perioperative chemotherapy for high-grade STS in the extremities and trunk, AI remains the standard regimen. Clinical trial information: UMIN000013175 .

3637 Background: At ESMO2019, we reported the primary results of a randomized controlled trial (FAEISS study) investigating the efficacy of topical corticosteroid treatment to facial acneiform rash (AR) by EGFR inhibitors comparing groups starting with a very strong topical corticosteroid and the standard weak topical corticosteroid. As an ancillary analysis, we investigated the association between AR and the pre-treatment skin types, as well as between the skin types and therapeutic effects of EGFR inhibitors on the primary disease. Methods: Utilizing pre-treatment clinical photos of the face taken according to the method determined by FAEISS study protocol, we divided the skin types into categories including enlarged pore, oiliness, xerosis, wrinkles, skin color/redness, and allocated the score (1-3) by central review. The severity of AR occurred during the study was graded and was evaluated the association with the specific skin type by Fisher’s exact test. We also investigated the association between the skin types and the best overall response (RECISTv1.1) to EGFR inhibitor therapy on the primary disease using the Cochran-Armitage trend test. Results: Of the registered 172 cases of RAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer [104 men and 68 women, median age = 68 (26-79)], omitting the cases with unevaluable data, finally we analyzed 146 cases for associations between the skin types and AR and 147 cases for best overall response. Interestingly, AR developed 13.6% of enlarged pore score 1, 29% of score 2 and 45.8% of score 3, and patients with enlarged pore tended to have more AR (p = 0.058). Surprisingly, the response(CR/PR/SD) of the primary disease were 59.1% of the enlarged pore score 1, 70.6% of score 2 and 87.0% of score 3, and showed statistically significant trend(p < 0.038). Conclusions: This study suggested that a skin type (enlarged pore) is a possible marker predicting AR risk in EGFR inhibitor therapy for RAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer, and better therapeutic effects of EGFR inhibitors.

TPS4646 Background: Standard surgery for resectable advanced gastric cancer is D2 (standardized extended lymph node dissection) gastrectomy with omentectomy. The reason why omentectomy has been performed is as follows; (1) principal surgery for gastrointestinal cancers is en-block resection of mesothelium including regional lymph nodes. Omentum is a part of the mesothelium of the stomach. (2) Cancer cells implanted into the peritoneal cavity aggregated in the milky-spot of the omentum and formed peritoneal dissemination in an animal model. (3) By special staining, micrometastasis detected in the omentum. There is some arguments for this theory. (1) no prospective study showed survival benefit of omentectomy as compared with omentum preservation. (2) anatomically, milky-spot is found not only in the omentum but also in other mesothelium or Douglas pouch. (3) JCOG1001 phase III study showed no survival benefit of bursectomy against non-bursectomy although bursa is a part of mesothelium of the stomach. (4) Anti-immunity is accelerated by antigen presentation by macrophage in the milky-spot of the omentum. Preservation of the omentum may have several benefits; (1) decrease in blood loss and operation time, (2) preservation of physical function by omentum such as reaction to peritonitis and prevention of adhesion, and (3) overcoming difficulties in laparoscopic omentectomy and avoidance of organ injury during surgery. Methods: The study is multicenter randomized phase III trial designed to confirm non-inferiority of omentum preservation to omentectomy for resectable advanced gastric cancer. Patients aged 20-79 years, histologically proven gastric adenocarcinoma, clinical subserosal/serosal invasion, and expected R0 (curative) resection are randomly assigned (1:1) during surgery to either omentum preservation or omentectomy. Total or distal gastrectomy with D2 dissection is performed in both arms. Laparoscopic gastrectomy is not allowed. Intraoperative photographs of the dissected field are centrally reviewed for all patients for quality control. The primary endpoint is relapse-free survival (RFS) and the secondary endpoints are overall survival, blood loss, operation time, and adverse events. Sample size was set at 1050 considering expected 3-year RFS of 77% in both arms with non-inferiority margin of 5%, one-sided alpha of 5%, and power of 80%. Planned accrual and follow up period are 6.5 years and 3 years respectively. The trial was activated in March 2019, and 177 patients are enrolled as of January 2020. Clinical trial information: UMIN000036253 .

4565 Background: Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is associated with synchronous or metachronous cancer at other primary sites. Previous studies have suggested that patients (pts) with ESCC are still at a high risk of second primary malignancies after definitive therapies. In particular, early-stage ESCCs result in good prognosis, which is associated with a higher risk of second primary malignancies. Methods: The JCOG0502 was a phase III trial, which included a randomized and a non-randomized part and compared esophagectomy with definitive chemoradiotherapy in clinical T1bN0 ESCC. We additionally reviewed data of all pts enrolled in the JCOG0502 for second primary malignancies. Lugol-voiding lesions (LVLs) were assessed in the noncancerous esophageal mucosa before the treatments. Results: Among 379 enrolled pts, 213 pts received esophagectomy and the remaining received chemoradiotherapy. Patient characteristics of overall cohort were as follows: male, 85%; median age, 63 (range, 41–75) years; upper- /middle- /lower thoracic esophagus, 11/63/27%; alcohol consumption history, 79%; smoking history, 66%; prevalence of no LVLs/several LVLs/many LVLs/unknown, 45/36/8/11%. With a median follow-up of 7.1 years, a total of 118 second malignancies were observed in 99 pts (26%). Cumulative incidences of second malignancies after 3, 5, 10 years were 9, 15, 36%, respectively. Most common primary tumor sites were head and neck (35%), followed by stomach (20%) and lung (14%). In multivariable analyses, several LVLs [hazard ratio (HR): 2.24, 95% confidential interval (CI): 1.32–3.81, vs. no LVLs] and many LVLs (HR: 2.88, 95% CI: 1.27–6.52, vs. no LVLs) were significantly associated with the development of second malignancies. Regarding the three most common types of cancers, 62 out of the 77 cancers (81%) were diagnosed in clinical stage 0–I. Seventeen pts died due to second primary malignancies. There were 4 and 3 deaths from head and neck and lung cancer, respectively. Whereas, mortality caused by stomach cancer was not observed. Conclusions: In the JCOG0502, the incidence of second malignancies was high, indicating that careful follow-up is required for ESCC pts even after treatment completion. The presence of LVLs in esophagus was identified as an independent predictive factor for second primary malignancies, which may be useful for surveillance strategies. Clinical trial information: UMIN000000551 .

Background Patients undergoing complete resection of thymoma occasionally develop a recurrence of thymoma; they are also at risk of developing a second malignancy. The objective of our study was to compare the incidence and mortality of a second malignancy versus a recurrence of thymoma during the postoperative follow-up period after complete resection of thymoma. Methods A retrospective chart review was performed on our prospectively maintained database to identify patients undergoing complete resection of thymoma at our institution between 1991 and 2016. The incidence and related mortality of a second malignancy or recurrence of thymoma were recorded. Results One hundred and sixty-four patients were identified. Follow-up ranged from 1 to 239 months (median 54 months). During follow-up, 12 patients had a recurrence of thymoma and 14 developed a second malignancy. The mean risk ratio of recurrence to second malignancy was 0.58 (95% confidence interval: 0.48–0.69) at 5 years, 0.58 (95% confidence interval: 0.49–0.68) at 10 years, and 0.51 (95% confidence interval: 0.43–0.60) at 15 years. The mean risk ratio of recurrence versus second malignancy for related death was 0.59 (95% confidence interval: 0.50–0.70) at 5 years and 0.61 (95% confidence interval: 0.52–0.72) at 10 years. Conclusion It appears that patients undergoing complete resection of thymoma have a higher incidence of a second malignancy and a greater related mortality rate than a recurrence of thymoma. A multiinstitutional database is required to more rigorously evaluate both risks and to confirm our results.

Background Patients undergoing chemotherapy are known to be at risk for infection from myelosuppression by cytotoxic agents (CTAs) or immunosuppressive effects from mTOR inhibitors. The infection risk of newly developed anticancer agents has not been fully evaluated. It remains unknown how T-cell activation induced by immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) relates to infection. Methods We retrospectively examined infection risk in patients with cancer treated with investigational agents in a phase I study. The investigational agents were classified into four groups: CTA, phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase/Akt/mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitor (PAM), molecular targeted agent (MTA) and ICI. All infection-related adverse events (AEs) during treatment were recorded. We compared the CTA, PAM and ICI with MTA, because MTA are already considered low risk and were used in the largest number of patients. Results A total of 641 patients were enrolled: 35 CTAs (5.5%), 61 PAMs (9.5%), 445 MTAs (69.4%) and 100 ICIs (15.6%). Among all patients, 132 (20.6%) experienced infection-related AEs and 46 (7.2%) developed 50 ≥grade 3 infection-related AEs. In any infection-related AEs, the ORs compared with MTAs were 2.19 (95% CI 1.03 to 4.66) for CTAs, 3.55 (95% CI 2.02 to 6.24) for PAMs and 1.05 (95% CI 0.60 to 1.85) for ICIs, respectively. In time to the first infection-related AE analysis, the risks for any infection-related AE from CTAs and PAMs were higher than those from MTAs (HR 1.84 (95% CI 0.82 to 4.11); p=0.05 and 3.96 (95% CI 2.18 to 7.22); p

4067 Background: Recently, the negative impact of postoperative complications on long-term survival outcomes has been reported in patients with gastric cancer. However, most are single center, retrospective studies with different definitions of postoperative complications. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of postoperative complications on long-term outcomes using the data of a multicenter randomized controlled trial (JCOG1001). Methods: This study included 1191 out of all 1204 patients enrolled in JCOG1001 which was aimed to confirm the superiority of bursectomy for patients with cT3/4a locally advanced gastric cancer. Complications were graded by Clavien-Dindo classification. The relationships between the grade (≥grade II or ≥grade III) or type (all or intraabdominal infectious (pancreatic fistula, anastomotic leakage, and intra-abdominal abscess.)) of complications and survival outcomes were evaluated. Results: The incidences of ≥grade II and ≥grade III all complications were 23.0% and 9.7%, and those of ≥grade II and ≥grade III intraabdominal infectious complications were 13.4% and 6.9%, respectively. The hazard ratios for overall survival (OS) of patients with ≥grade II and ≥grade III all complications and those of patients with ≥grade II and ≥grade III intraabdominal infectious complications were shown in Table. With whichever definition we adopted, postoperative complications were significantly associated with OS in both univariable and multivariable analysis. Conclusions: Postoperative complication was identified as an independent prognostic factor in patients with cT3/4a gastric cancer. Hazard ratios for overall survival by univariable and multivariable Cox proportional hazard model. Clinical trial information: UMIN000003688. [Table: see text]

104 Background: JCOG0909, a single-arm confirmatory trial of definitive chemoradiotherapy (dCRT) including salvage treatment, demonstrated promising efficacy and safety for cStage II/III (UICC-TNM 6th) esophageal cancer (EC) (Ito Y, ASCO 2018). Radiation (RT) fields included the elective regional lymph node during initial 41.4 Gy, such as bilateral supraclavicular fossae and superior mediastinal lymph nodes for upper thoracic (Ut), and mediastinal and perigastric lymph nodes for middle thoracic (Mt)/lower thoracic (Lt) EC. It is unclear whether the safety and efficacy are associated with the tumor location in patients with cStage II/III EC treated with dCRT. Methods: Patients who were enrolled in JCOG0909 and underwent dCRT were analyzed. Patients were categorized into three groups according to primary tumor location (Ut/Mt/Lt). We compared adverse events during dCRT, complete response (CR) rate, progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) among groups. Results: Ninety-four patients (Ut/Mt/Lt: 16/59/19) were analyzed. The proportions of cStage IIA/IIB/III were 31%/44%/25% in Ut group, 20%/42%/37% in Mt group, and 21%/32%/47% in Lt group, respectively. The summary of safety and efficacy was listed in Table 1. Grade 3-4 leukopenia, neutropenia and thrombocytopenia were more frequently observed in Mt and Lt groups than in Ut group. CR rate was 63% in Ut, 63% in Mt, and 42% in Lt, respectively. 3-year PFS in Ut/Mt/Lt was 60%/59%/47% and 3-year OS was 73%/78%/58%, respectively. Conclusions: The RT field by the tumor location might be associated with efficacy and safety of dCRT for cStage II/III esophageal cancer. [Table: see text]