{"title":"Zolbetuximab plus chemotherapy in Japanese patients with claudin 18.2-positive gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma: a combined subgroup analysis of the phase 3 SPOTLIGHT and GLOW trials.","authors":"Kensei Yamaguchi, Hirokazu Shoji, Hisateru Yasui, Eiji Oki, Daisuke Sakai, Tetsuya Hamaguchi, Akihito Tsuji, Takashi Oshima, Masahiro Tsuda, Keiko Minashi, Jianning Yang, Abraham Guerrero, Yoko Ueno, Maria Matsangou, Georgia Gourgioti, Yuka Nakanishi, Satomi Furuki, Kana Kuwamoto, Shunsuke Yamada, Kohei Shitara","doi":"10.1007/s10120-026-01738-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10120-026-01738-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Zolbetuximab is a monoclonal antibody targeting claudin 18 isoform 2 (CLDN18.2) approved for first-line treatment of CLDN18.2-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative, locally advanced (LA) unresectable or metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) adenocarcinoma. Here, we report efficacy and safety outcomes from the combined Japanese subgroup analysis of SPOTLIGHT and GLOW.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Global, double-blind, phase 3 SPOTLIGHT (NCT03504397) and GLOW (NCT03653507) trials investigated zolbetuximab plus chemotherapy versus placebo plus chemotherapy in patients with CLDN18.2-positive, HER2-negative, LA unresectable or metastatic gastric or GEJ adenocarcinoma. The primary endpoint in both trials was progression-free survival (PFS); overall survival (OS) was a key secondary endpoint.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Of 1072 patients enrolled, 116 Japanese patients (SPOTLIGHT, n = 65; GLOW, n = 51) comprised the combined Japanese subgroup. The baseline characteristics of Japanese patients were generally similar to those of the overall study populations. In the combined Japanese subgroup, PFS was improved with zolbetuximab plus chemotherapy versus placebo plus chemotherapy (20.53 months [95% confidence interval (CI) 12.09-not estimable] versus 8.28 months [95% CI 6.57-9.07]). Median OS was 23.06 months (95% CI 16.49-25.49) in the zolbetuximab group versus 16.53 months (95% CI 10.38-18.33) in the placebo group. No new safety signals were observed.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>In Japanese patients, zolbetuximab plus chemotherapy improved PFS versus placebo plus chemotherapy and showed a numerical improvement in OS. These results support zolbetuximab plus chemotherapy as a potential new standard-of-care first-line option for Japanese patients with CLDN18.2-positive, HER2-negative, LA unresectable or metastatic gastric or GEJ adenocarcinoma.</p>","PeriodicalId":12684,"journal":{"name":"Gastric Cancer","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2026-05-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147837194","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Gastric CancerPub Date : 2026-05-05DOI: 10.1007/s10120-026-01739-6
Georgina A Keogh, Nina Šefčovičová, Tomio Arai, Myeong-Cherl Kook, Jon P Laye, William H Allum, Sameira Arif, Avani Athauda, Hee Kyung Chang, Jae-Ho Cheong, Mee-Yon Cho, David Cunningham, Lara Heij, Andrew F Irvine, Hee Sung Kim, Hyunki Kim, Young-Woo Kim, Ruth E Langley, Sung Hak Lee, Katharina von Loga, Matthew G Nankivell, Takashi Oshima, Russell D Petty, Xiuxiang Tan, Shiro Tanaka, Akira Tsuburaya, Judith de Vos-Geelen, Nicholas P West, Jake Emmerson, Jamie R Stokes, Derek R Magee, David A Cairns, Heike I Grabsch
{"title":"The density of tumour infiltrating lymphocytes in oesophago-gastric cancer varies with disease stage, geographical region and treatment: a post hoc analysis of nine phase III clinical trials.","authors":"Georgina A Keogh, Nina Šefčovičová, Tomio Arai, Myeong-Cherl Kook, Jon P Laye, William H Allum, Sameira Arif, Avani Athauda, Hee Kyung Chang, Jae-Ho Cheong, Mee-Yon Cho, David Cunningham, Lara Heij, Andrew F Irvine, Hee Sung Kim, Hyunki Kim, Young-Woo Kim, Ruth E Langley, Sung Hak Lee, Katharina von Loga, Matthew G Nankivell, Takashi Oshima, Russell D Petty, Xiuxiang Tan, Shiro Tanaka, Akira Tsuburaya, Judith de Vos-Geelen, Nicholas P West, Jake Emmerson, Jamie R Stokes, Derek R Magee, David A Cairns, Heike I Grabsch","doi":"10.1007/s10120-026-01739-6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10120-026-01739-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Tumour infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) are a key component of the tumour microenvironment. To establish a clinically relevant TILs cut-off for patients with oesophago-gastric (OG) cancer, it is essential to know whether TILs density varies by patient and/or disease characteristics.</p><p><strong>Materials and methods: </strong>TILs were quantified as TILs/mm<sup>2</sup> (TILs density) by a deep-learning algorithm applied to digitised Haematoxylin/Eosin (H&E)-stained biopsies and resection specimens from 4628 patients from nine phase III trials. 4533 patients with TILs density and matched clinicopathological data were included in the final analyses. Associations between TILs density, disease stage, geographical region (UK versus Asia), sex, age, and treatment were analysed.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Median TILs density was higher in pre-treatment biopsies from patients with early-stage versus late-stage disease (962 vs 479 TILs/mm<sup>2</sup>, p < 0.001). Within the same geographical region and disease stage, TILs density was similar across different chemotherapy regimens. In UK-led trials of early-stage disease, post-chemotherapy resections showed higher TILs density than chemotherapy-naïve resections (618 vs 571 TILs/mm<sup>2</sup>, p = 0.003). TILs density was higher in Asian tumours compared to UK tumours (1419 vs 571 TILs/mm<sup>2</sup>, p < 0.001). No significant associations were observed with age or sex.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This is the largest study to date evaluating TILs density in OG cancer. TILs density varied with stage and geographical region but not by age or sex. These findings may explain enhanced response to immunotherapy observed in published studies of patients with early-stage disease and highlight the need to account for baseline TILs heterogeneity when interpreting TILs as a possible biomarker in future studies.</p>","PeriodicalId":12684,"journal":{"name":"Gastric Cancer","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2026-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147837230","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A phase II trial of ramucirumab and docetaxel as second-line treatment for patients with advanced gastric cancer (HGCSG 1903).","authors":"Yasuyuki Kawamoto, Kentaro Sawada, Kazuaki Harada, Iori Motoo, Takayuki Ando, Susumu Sogabe, Yoshimitsu Kobayashi, Masayoshi Dazai, Michio Nakamura, Kazuteru Hatanaka, Atsushi Ishiguro, Atsushi Sato, Shintaro Nakano, Yoshiaki Shindo, Ayumu Hosokawa, Ken Ito, Ayumu Yoshikawa, Akira Ueda, Kayoko Iuchi, Isao Yokota, Satoshi Yuki, Yoshito Komatsu","doi":"10.1007/s10120-026-01751-w","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10120-026-01751-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Ramucirumab has shown efficacy in combination with paclitaxel in the second-line treatment of advanced gastric cancer (AGC). The efficacy and safety regarding the combination therapy of ramucirumab and docetaxel have not been reported. This treatment could reduce the incidence of neuropathy and patients' hospital visits.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This was a multicenter, single-arm phase II trial. Patients with AGC who were refractory or intolerant to primary treatment were eligible. Patients received ramucirumab at a dose of 8 mg/kg on day1 and 15, and docetaxel at a dose of 60 mg/m<sup>2</sup> on day1 of a 28-day cycle. The primary endpoint was overall response rate (ORR). The secondary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), relative dose intensity, and safety.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A final analysis of efficacy and safety was performed in 35 patients. ORR was 25.7% (90% confidence interval [CI] 14.1-40.6) and disease control rate was 74.3% (90%CI 59.4-85.9). Median PFS and OS were 3.1 months (95%CI 2.1-4.2) and 11.5 months (95%CI 9.2-13.9), respectively. Grade 3 or higher adverse events that occurred in more than 10% of patients were neutropenia, leucopenia, febrile neutropenia, hypertension, and anorexia. The study protocol was amended to allow primary granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) prophylaxis during study period. There was no one incident febrile neutropenia after the protocol amendment. Peripheral sensory neuropathy occurred in 65.7% of all grades, with no incidence of grade 3 or higher.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The combination therapy of ramucirumab and docetaxel demonstrated some efficacy for AGC. Caution is required regarding the occurrence of febrile neutropenia. This treatment might be considered as an option for second-line treatment of patients with AGC.</p>","PeriodicalId":12684,"journal":{"name":"Gastric Cancer","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2026-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147814198","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Exercise-nutrition prehabilitation attenuates lean body mass loss before gastrectomy: a randomized controlled trial.","authors":"Kazuyoshi Yamamoto, Naoki Shinno, Takeshi Omori, Yoshitomo Yanagimoto, Yasunori Masuike, Yuki Ushimaru, Kei Yamamoto, Keijiro Sugimura, Masaharu Shima, Masayuki Suzuki, Norihiro Matsuura, Takahito Sugase, Takeshi Kanemura, Yoshinori Kagawa, Kunihito Gotoh, Shogo Kobayashi, Hiroshi Miyata","doi":"10.1007/s10120-026-01747-6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10120-026-01747-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Older patients undergoing gastrectomy frequently exhibit sarcopenia and reduced physiologic reserve, increasing vulnerability to perioperative muscle loss. However, randomized evidence supporting multimodal exercise-nutrition prehabilitation in gastric cancer surgery remains limited. This trial evaluated whether prehabilitation attenuates preoperative lean body mass (LBM) loss and explored subgroups with greater benefit.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>In this single-center, open-label randomized controlled trial, patients aged ≥ 65 years with resectable gastric adenocarcinoma scheduled for curative gastrectomy were randomized 1:1 to standard care or multimodal prehabilitation. The intervention included daily walking, resistance training, and β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate supplementation. The primary endpoint was change in LBM from baseline to preoperative assessment. Secondary endpoints included physical function and postoperative outcomes. Prespecified subgroup and exploratory adherence analyses were conducted.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Of 110 randomized patients, 101 were analyzed (control, n = 52; prehabilitation, n = 49). Mean (SD) change in LBM was - 0.3 (1.2) kg in controls and 0.1 (1.0) kg with prehabilitation, yielding a mean difference of 0.4 kg (95% CI, 0.02-0.86; P = 0.043). Physical function and postoperative outcomes did not differ between groups. Greater LBM preservation was observed in women and in patients with lower baseline C-reactive protein or skeletal muscle index. Higher resistance training adherence was associated with greater LBM gain.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Multimodal exercise-nutrition prehabilitation modestly preserved preoperative LBM in elderly gastrectomy patients but did not improve functional or postoperative outcomes. Risk-enriched trials are needed to determine whether targeted prehabilitation improves clinically meaningful endpoints.</p>","PeriodicalId":12684,"journal":{"name":"Gastric Cancer","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2026-05-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147814173","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Gastric CancerPub Date : 2026-05-01Epub Date: 2026-03-09DOI: 10.1007/s10120-025-01704-9
Mira Yoo, Hyung-Ho Kim, Du-Yeong Hwang, Chanmi Bang, Duk Yeon Kim, Sangyoung Lee, Soo Kyung Bae, Yooseong Jeong, Ji Yeon Kim, Dong-Kyu Lee
{"title":"Pharmacokinetic and tissue distribution advantages of intraperitoneal oxaliplatin over systemic delivery: a swine model comparison of PIPAC and HPIPAC.","authors":"Mira Yoo, Hyung-Ho Kim, Du-Yeong Hwang, Chanmi Bang, Duk Yeon Kim, Sangyoung Lee, Soo Kyung Bae, Yooseong Jeong, Ji Yeon Kim, Dong-Kyu Lee","doi":"10.1007/s10120-025-01704-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10120-025-01704-9","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":12684,"journal":{"name":"Gastric Cancer","volume":" ","pages":"578-587"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147390026","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Gastric CancerPub Date : 2026-05-01Epub Date: 2026-03-27DOI: 10.1007/s10120-026-01724-z
Tomas Sokop, Iveta Selingerova, Vaclav Jedlicka, Lumir Kunovsky, Igor Kiss, Radka Lordick Obermannova
{"title":"Early- versus late-onset gastroesophageal cancer: real-world outcomes from a 13-year central European cohort study.","authors":"Tomas Sokop, Iveta Selingerova, Vaclav Jedlicka, Lumir Kunovsky, Igor Kiss, Radka Lordick Obermannova","doi":"10.1007/s10120-026-01724-z","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10120-026-01724-z","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":12684,"journal":{"name":"Gastric Cancer","volume":" ","pages":"494-505"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13124764/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147528241","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Long-term survival outcomes from a phase II trial of perioperative capecitabine plus oxaliplatin for advanced gastric cancer with extensive lymph node metastases: OGSG 1701.","authors":"Shunji Endo, Yutaka Kimura, Naotoshi Sugimoto, Ryohei Kawabata, Atsushi Takeno, Shigeyuki Tamura, Jin Matsuyama, Masato Nakamura, Hiroki Takeshita, Motohiro Imano, Atsushi Yasuda, Hironaga Satake, Shogen Boku, Masahito Kotaka, Tomohira Takeoka, Yukinori Kurokawa, Toshimasa Tsujinaka, Toshio Shimokawa, Taroh Satoh","doi":"10.1007/s10120-026-01726-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10120-026-01726-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Patients with advanced gastric cancer and para-aortic and/or bulky lymph node metastases have extremely poor prognosis after surgery alone. The OGSG1701 phase II trial evaluated the efficacy and safety of perioperative administration of capecitabine and oxaliplatin (CapeOx). Short-term results showed promising response and resection rates. Herein, we report the final survival outcomes.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This multicenter, single-arm, phase II trial enrolled patients with histologically proven, HER2-negative or unknown gastric cancer with para-aortic (no.16a2/16b1) and/or bulky lymph node metastases. Patients received three cycles of preoperative CapeOx followed by gastrectomy with D2 ± para-aortic lymphadenectomy, and five cycles of postoperative CapeOx. The primary endpoint was response rate; the key secondary endpoints included overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Thirty patients from 14 institutions were enrolled between 2018 and 2022. At a minimum follow-up of 36 months, the 3- and 5-years OS rates were 79.0% (95% confidence interval [CI], 59.0-90.0%) and 61.0% (95% CI 38.9-77.1%), respectively. Median OS was 64.9 months (95% CI 41.2-not estimable). The 3 years PFS rate was 46.7% (95% CI 28.4-63.0%), and the median PFS was 29.0 months (95% CI 9.4-not estimable). No additional treatment-related deaths occurred during the long-term follow-up.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Perioperative CapeOx therapy resulted in encouraging long-term survival in patients with advanced gastric cancer and extensive nodal metastasis. These findings support its potential role as a perioperative strategy for biologically high-risk gastric cancer, with an acceptable safety profile.</p>","PeriodicalId":12684,"journal":{"name":"Gastric Cancer","volume":" ","pages":"611-621"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13124816/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147456637","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A phase II study of neoadjuvant chemotherapy with docetaxel, cisplatin, and S-1 followed by gastrectomy for type 4 or large type 3 gastric cancer (OGSG 1402).","authors":"Ryo Tanaka, Sang-Woong Lee, Kazumasa Fujitani, Shunji Endo, Junji Kawada, Toshifumi Yamaguchi, Yusuke Akamaru, Ko Takachi, Noriko Wada, Osamu Takayama, Haruna Furukawa, Masaaki Motoori, Keijiro Sugimura, Yoshio Oka, Izumi Komoto, Shugo Ueda, Tomono Kawase, Jin Matsuyama, Toru Masuzawa, Yukinori Kurokawa, Toshimasa Tsujinaka, Toshio Shimokawa, Taro Satoh","doi":"10.1007/s10120-026-01727-w","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10120-026-01727-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>A multi-institutional phase II study (OGSG 1402) evaluated the efficacy and safety of neoadjuvant docetaxel, cisplatin, and S-1 (DCS) therapy for type 4 or large type 3 gastric cancers.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Patients with macroscopic type 4 or large type 3 gastric cancer received two or three cycles of neoadjuvant DCS therapy (docetaxel 40 mg/m<sup>2</sup> and cisplatin 60 mg/m<sup>2</sup> intravenously on day 1, and S-1 80-120 mg/body orally for 14 days, every 4 weeks), followed by gastrectomy with D2 lymphadenectomy. After R0 resection, adjuvant S-1 chemotherapy was administered for 1 year. The primary endpoint was the R0 resection rate.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Between March 2015 and June 2018, 48 patients were enrolled, 47 of whom were eligible. The R0 resection rate was 68.1% (32/47, 95% confidence interval [CI] 52.9-80.9). Forty-two patients (89.4%) completed neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). The most common grade 3 or 4 adverse event during NAC was neutropenia (23/47, 48.9%). Surgical morbidity of Clavien-Dindo grade IIIa or higher occurred in 8.5% (4/47) of patients. The pathological response rate, defined as grades 1b to 3, was 42.6% (20/47, 95% CI 28.3-57.8). The 5-year overall survival rate was 38.3% (95% CI 24.6-51.8) and the 5-year progression-free survival rate was 29.8% (95% CI 17.6-43.0).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>In patients with type 4 or large type 3 gastric cancer, neoadjuvant DCS therapy did not meet the predefined threshold for the R0 resection rate. Despite its acceptable feasibility and manageable toxicity, the addition of docetaxel to the S-1 plus cisplatin regimen is unlikely to provide a survival benefit for this high-risk population.</p><p><strong>Trial registration: </strong>The study was registered with UMIN-CTR (number UMIN 000015631).</p>","PeriodicalId":12684,"journal":{"name":"Gastric Cancer","volume":" ","pages":"622-634"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147473385","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}