Real-World Long-Term Outcomes with Perioperative EOX in D2 Gastrectomy: a Meaningful Look While We Switch to FLOT-4

Data regarding long-term survival and prognosis in loco-regionally advanced, non-metastatic gastric cancers (GC) using perioperative chemotherapy and D2 lymphadenectomies from India is scarce.

The study is a retrospective evaluation of locally advanced gastric cancers who received epirubicin-oxaliplatin-capecitabine (EOX) as perioperative therapy from May 2013 to December 2015 at Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai. The report concentrates on long-term survival outcomes and prognostic factors. Event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) were calculated using Kaplan-Meier method.

Two hundred and sixty-eight patients were started on EOX regimen, of which 200 patients (74.6%) underwent definitive resection with D2 lymphadenectomy. With a median follow-up of 52.7 months, the estimated median 3-year and 5-year EFS were 38.5% and 36.3% respectively. The estimated median 3-year and 5-year OS were 41.7% and 37.6% respectively. Patients younger than age 40 years [HR 1.55 (1.034-2.321); p = 0.034] and with poorly differentiated histology [HR 0.65 (0.446-0.944); p = 0.024] had inferior OS compared to their counterparts.

Long-term OS in Indian patients in non-metastatic GC with EOX chemotherapy and D2 lymphadenectomy is similar to previously published Western data. Younger Indian patients fare worse than their older counterparts and this needs further evaluation.