Combination Therapy with Durvalumab and FLOT Shows Promise for Resectable Gastric and GE Junction Cancer

Recent research presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) has revealed that the combination of durvalumab and the FLOT regimen (fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin, and docetaxel) significantly improves event-free survival rates in patients with resectable gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma.

Conducted by a team from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Weill Cornell Medicine, the phase 3 trial involved 948 patients who were randomly assigned to receive either durvalumab or a placebo along with FLOT for four cycles, followed by additional cycles of durvalumab or placebo. The primary endpoint of the study was event-free survival.

The findings indicated that the two-year event-free survival rate was 67.4% for the durvalumab group compared to 58.5% for the placebo group. Furthermore, the overall survival rates were also promising, with 75.7% of patients on durvalumab surviving at the two-year mark, compared to 70.4% in the placebo group.

Additionally, the study found that 19.2% of patients receiving durvalumab achieved a pathological complete response, which is a significant increase from the 7.2% in the placebo group. These results underscore the potential of durvalumab as an effective treatment option in this challenging patient population.

One of the lead researchers emphasized the importance of these findings, stating that the ability to inform patients of a complete response to treatment represents a significant advancement in the management of gastric and GE junction cancers.

The research was funded by AstraZeneca, the manufacturer of durvalumab, and several authors of the study disclosed affiliations with biopharmaceutical companies.

In summary, the combination of durvalumab and FLOT presents a promising new approach for patients diagnosed with resectable gastric and gastroesophageal junction cancer, potentially leading to improved outcomes and quality of life.