BackgroundNivolumab plus chemotherapy demonstrated clinically significant improvement in quality-adjusted survival versus chemotherapy alone as first-line treatment for advanced non-HER2-positive gastric cancer, gastroesophageal junction cancer, and esophageal adenocarcinoma (GC/GEJC/EAC) in the CheckMate 649 post-hoc quality-adjusted time without symptoms or toxicity (Q-TWiST) analysis at 1-year minimum follow-up. We report Q-TWiST analysis results at 4-year minimum follow-up.MethodsQ-TWiST methodology was applied post-hoc to CheckMate 649 study data from all randomized patients, patients with PD-L1 combined positive score (CPS) ≥ 1, and patients with PD-L1 CPS ≥ 5. Relative Q-TWiST gains ≥ 10% were predefined as clinically important and ≥ 15% as clearly clinically important.ResultsAmong all randomized patients, patients with PD-L1 CPS ≥ 1, and patients with PD-L1 CPS ≥ 5, mean (95% CI) absolute Q-TWiST gains of 3.4 (1.8–5.1), 4.2 (2.4–6.1), and 5.4 (3.0–7.7) months with nivolumab plus chemotherapy versus chemotherapy were observed, respectively. These translated to clearly clinically important relative Q-TWiST gains of 20.5%, 26.1%, and 33.4% in each population; relative Q-TWiST gains benefit remained clearly clinically important in all subgroups (15.7%, 20.3%, and 26.4%) after expanding the analysis to include grade 2 adverse events. Greater Q-TWiST gains were observed with nivolumab plus chemotherapy across most subgroups in all randomized patients and patients with PD-L1 CPS ≥ 1 and across all subgroups in patients with PD-L1 CPS ≥ 5.ConclusionClearly clinically important benefit in quality-adjusted survival with first-line nivolumab plus chemotherapy versus chemotherapy was observed across all evaluated PD-L1 CPS expression levels in patients with advanced GC/GEJC/EAC from CheckMate 649 with 4-year minimum follow-up.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov identifier, NCT02872116.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10120-025-01634-6.

BackgroundThe purpose of this study was to examine the eligibility criteria in phase 3 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in gastric cancer.MethodsThe analysis included 207 RCTs of systemic treatments, started between 2009 and 2024, and registered at the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP).Results93 (44.9%) trials had an upper age limit of 85 years of age or lower (coprimary outcome). In multivariable analysis, these limits were less likely in RCTs with the sites located in North America (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.06; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.01–0.26; p < 0.001). Only 3 (1.4%) trials were specifically dedicated to older patients. 138 (66.7%) trials excluded patients with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) score > 1 (coprimary outcome); these criteria were more likely in more recent trials (aOR, 4.49; 95% CI 2.11–9.94; p < 0.001). However, the odds of excluding individuals with ECOG score > 1 were not significantly associated with any type of the investigational treatment including chemotherapy (p > 0.05). Moreover, many trials excluded patients with brain metastases (n = 91; 44%) and those with comorbidities, most frequently liver disorders (n = 170; 82.1%). None of the RCTs excluded patients based on frailty.ConclusionsThe eligibility criteria in phase 3 RCTs in gastric cancer are fairly strict. Recommendations presented in this article will allow the investigators to improve the enrollment of some clinically relevant populations of patients, especially older persons, individuals with inadequate performance status, and those with comorbidities, without substantially compromising the safety of trials participants.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10120-025-01653-3.

BackgroundIdentifying the most effective postoperative surveillance interval in patients with gastric cancer (GC) remains challenging. To elucidate a logical and effective surveillance schedule, we analyzed GC recurrence risk trends after gastrectomy using the hazard function.MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 2503 patients who underwent curative GC resection between 2000 and 2018. We examined recurrence risk over time and the influence of clinicopathological variables on it.ResultsOverall, GC recurred in 291 patients (11.6%) over a median of 64.6 months. Recurrence risk was highest at approximately 11-months postoperatively (hazard rate [HR]: 0.0045), decreasing to half the peak at approximately 39-months postoperatively. Patients with Stage I GC maintained a low risk. In Stage II patients, the risk peaked at 16-months postoperatively (HR: 0.006) and gradually declined thereafter. Stage III patients had the highest risk at 11 months postoperatively (HR: 0.019), plateauing at 40 months.ConclusionsWe demonstrated significant cancer stage-dependent differences in postsurgical GC recurrence risk by using the hazard function. Reductions in surveillance intensity might be acceptable according to the individual risk of recurrence.

BackgroundGastric cancer is a common malignancy with a high incidence in East Asia. Gastric resection ranges from endoscopic resection to open total gastrectomy. However, nationwide data are lacking.MethodsThis observational study analyzed data from the publicly accessible National Database of Health Insurance Claims and Specific Health Checkups, which includes most national health insurance claims data in Japan. Trends in the types of resection performed for malignant gastric tumors between 2014 and 2021, patients’ age and sex distributions, and regional disparities were investigated.ResultsThe annual number of resections was highest in 2015 (109,000) and lowest in 2020 (90,000) after the COVID-19 pandemic. The proportion of endoscopic resections increased from 47% in 2014 to 57% in 2021 while that of total gastrectomies decreased from 17 to 10%. In 2021, 70% of patients who underwent resection were men. That year, 83.8% of all patients who underwent any type of gastric resection and 87.1% of those who underwent endoscopic submucosal dissection were aged ≥ 65 years. The annual incidence of gastric resection per million population was highest in Tottori (n = 1236) and lowest in Okinawa (n = 251). The proportion of endoscopic resections was highest in Miyagi (66%) and lowest in Aichi (45%) and that of open surgery was highest in Aomori (36%) and lowest in Wakayama (5%).ConclusionsGastric malignancy is increasingly treated by endoscopic submucosal dissection rather than open total gastrectomy. However, regional disparities remain in resection type. Standardization of treatment and a more even distribution of specialists are needed.

BackgroundIn 2019, the Gastrectomy Complications Consensus Group (GCCG) published a standardized set of complications aiming toward uniform reporting of post-gastrectomy complications. This study aimed to report outcomes after gastrectomy in the Netherlands according to GCCG definitions and compare them to previously reported national results and the European database reported by the GCCG.MethodsThis nationwide, population-based cohort study included all patients undergoing gastrectomy for gastric cancer registered in the DUCA in 2020–2021. Postoperative morbidity and 30-day/in-hospital mortality were analyzed according to the GCCG definitions. For all patients, baseline characteristics and outcomes were compared with the GCCG cohort consisting of 27 European expert centers (GASTRODATA; 2017–2018).ResultsIn 2020–2021, 782 patients underwent gastrectomy in the Netherlands. Variation was seen in baseline characteristics between the Dutch and the GCCG cohort (N = 1349), most notably in minimally invasive surgery (80.6% vs 19.6%, p < 0.001). In the Netherlands, 223 (28.5%) patients developed a total of 407 complications, the most frequent being non-surgical infections (28.5%) and anastomotic leakage (13.4%). The overall complication and 30-day mortality rates were similar between the Dutch and GCCG cohort (28.5% vs 29.8%, p = 0.563; 3.7% vs 3.6%, p = 0.953). Higher surgical and endoscopic/radiologic reintervention rates were observed in the Netherlands compared to the GCCG cohort (10.7% vs 7.8%, p = 0.025; 10.9% vs 2.9%, p < 0.001).ConclusionReporting outcomes according to the standardized GCCG definitions allows for international benchmarking. Postoperative outcomes were comparable between Dutch and GCCG cohorts, but both exceed the international benchmark for expert gastrectomy care, highlighting targets for national and international quality improvement.

ObjectiveTo compare the risks of gastric cancer and other gastric diseases in patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) exposed to sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2I), dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP4I) or glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP1a).DesignThis was a population-based cohort study of prospectively collected data on patients with T2DM prescribed SGLT2I, DPP4I or GLP1a between January 1st 2015 and December 31st 2020 from Hong Kong. The outcomes were new-onset gastric cancer, peptic ulcer (PU), acute gastritis, non-acute gastritis, and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Propensity score matching (1:1) using the nearest neighbour search was performed, and multivariable Cox regression was applied. A three-arm comparison between SGLT2I, DPP4I and GLP1a was conducted using propensity scores with inverse probability of treatment weighting.ResultsA total of 62,858 patients (median age: 62.2 years old [SD: 12.8]; 55.93% males; SGLT2I: n = 23,442; DPP4I: n = 39,416) were included. In the matched cohort, the incidence of gastric cancer was lower in SGLT2I (Incidence rate per 1000 person-year, IR: 0.32; 95% confidence interval, CI 0.23–0.43) than in DPP4I (IR per 1000 person-year: 1.22; CI 1.03–1.42) users. Multivariable Cox regression found that SGLT2I use was associated with lower risks of gastric cancer (HR 0.30; 95% CI 0.19–0.48), PU, acute gastritis, non-acute gastritis, and GERD (p < 0.05) compared to DPP4I use. In the three-arm analysis, GLP1a use was associated with higher risks of gastric cancer and GERD compared to SGLT2I use.ConclusionsThe use of SGLT2I was associated with lower risks of new-onset gastric cancer, PU, acute gastritis, non-acute gastritis, and GERD after matching and adjustments compared to DPP4I use. SGLT2I use was associated with lower risks of GERD and gastric cancer compared to GLP1a use.Graphical abstract

BackgroundThis study examined temporal shifts in adjuvant therapy patterns in Japanese patients with resectable gastric cancer (GC) and treatment patterns of first-line and subsequent therapy among those with recurrent disease.MethodsThis retrospective analysis of hospital-based administrative claims data (April 1, 2008 to March 31, 2022) included adults (aged ≥ 20 years) with GC who started adjuvant therapy on or after October 1, 2008 (adjuvant cohort) and patients in the adjuvant cohort with disease recurrence (recurrent cohort), further defined by the time to recurrence (≤ 180 or > 180 days after adjuvant therapy).ResultsIn the adjuvant cohort (n = 17,062), the most common regimen during October 2008–May 2016 was tegafur/gimeracil/oteracil potassium (S-1; 95.7%). As new standard adjuvant regimen options were established, adjuvant S-1 use decreased to 65.0% and fluoropyrimidine plus oxaliplatin or docetaxel plus S-1 use increased to 15.0% and 20.0%, respectively, in September 2019–March 2022. In the recurrent cohort with no history of trastuzumab/trastuzumab deruxtecan treatment (n = 1257), the most common first-line regimens were paclitaxel plus ramucirumab (34.0%), capecitabine plus oxaliplatin (CapeOX; 17.0%), and nab-paclitaxel plus ramucirumab (10.1%) in patients with early recurrence, and S-1 plus oxaliplatin (26.3%), S-1 plus cisplatin (15.3%), CapeOX (14.0%), S-1 (13.2%), and paclitaxel plus ramucirumab (10.8%) in those with late recurrence.ConclusionsThis study demonstrated temporal shifts in adjuvant treatment patterns that followed the establishment of novel regimens, and confirmed that post-recurrent treatment patterns were consistent with the Japanese Gastric Cancer Association guideline recommendations.

In this article, the scramble group of the invasion experiment in Fig. 2d , the Vector group of the migration experiment in Fig. 6c , the si-uMtCK + Lv-HK2 group of the invasion experiment in Fig. 6d and the experimental results of Lv-uMtCK + sh-HK2 in Fig. 6e were erroneously published; the Figs. 2 and 6 should have appeared as shown below.

In gastric solid-type poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma (PDA), the role of microsatellite instability and immune escape mechanism remains unclear. The current study aimed to elucidate the clinical significance of mismatch repair (MMR) status, genome profile, C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 2 (CXCR2) expression, and myeloid-derived suppressor cell (MDSC) infiltration in solid-type PDA. In total, 102 primary solid-type PDA cases were retrieved, and classified into 46 deficient-MMR (dMMR) and 56 proficient-MMR (pMMR) cases based on immunohistochemistry (IHC) and polymerase chain reaction-based molecular testing results. The mRNA expression profiles (NanoString nCounter Assay) of stage-matched dMMR (n = 6) and pMMR (n = 6) cases were examined. The CXCR2 expression and MDSC infiltration (CD11b- and CD33-positive cells) were investigated via IHC in all solid-type PDA cases. mRNA analysis revealed several differentially expressed genes and differences in biological behavior between the dMMR (n = 46) and pMMR (n = 56) groups. In the multivariate analysis, the dMMR status was significantly associated with a longer disease-free survival (hazard ratio = 5.152, p = 0.002) and overall survival (OS) (hazard ratio = 5.050, p = 0.005). CXCR2-high expression was significantly correlated with a shorter OS in the dMMR group (p = 0.018). A high infiltration of CD11b- and CD33-positive cells was significantly correlated with a shorter OS in the pMMR group (p = 0.022, 0.016, respectively). dMMR status can be a useful prognostic predictor, and CXCR2 and MDSCs can be novel therapeutic targets in patients with solid-type PDA.

Gastric cancer (GC) is characterized by an immunosuppressive and treatment-resistant tumor immune microenvironment (TIME). Here, we investigated the roles of different immunosuppressive cell types in the development of the GC TIME. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and multiplex immunostaining of samples from untreated or immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)-resistant GC patients were used to examine the correlation between certain immunosuppressive cells and the prognosis of GC patients. The results of the scRNA-seq analysis revealed that tumor-infiltrating monocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cells (TI-M-MDSCs) expressed higher levels of genes with immunosuppressive functions than other immunosuppressive cell types. Additionally, M-MDSCs in GC tissues expressed significantly higher levels of these markers than adjacent normal tissues. The M-MDSCs were most enriched in GC tissues relative to adjacent normal tissues. Among the immunosuppressive cell types assessed, the M-MDSCs were most enriched in GC tissues relative to adjacent normal tissues; moreover, their presence was most strongly associated with a poor prognosis. Immediate early response 3 (IER3), which we identified as a differentially expressed gene between M-MDSCs of GC and adjacent normal tissues, was an independent poor prognostic factor in GC patients (P = 0.0003). IER3+ M-MDSCs expressed higher levels of genes with immunosuppressive functions than IER3- M-MDSCs and were abundant in treatment-resistant GC patients. The present study suggests that TI-M-MDSCs, especially IER3+ ones, may play a predominant role in the development of the immunosuppressive and ICI-resistant GC TIME.