Dr. Chao on Practice-Changing Data in Metastatic Gastroesophageal Cancer

Joseph Chao, MD, assistant clinical professor, Department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research, City of Hope, discusses practice-changing data in metastatic gastroesophageal (GEJ) cancer.

Based on the results of the phase III TAGS trial presented at the 2018 ESMO Congress, TAS-102 (trifluridine/tipiracil; FTD/TPI; Lonsurf) was shown to be safe and effective in patients with refractory metastatic GEJ cancer. The combination showed a statistically significant improvement in median overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS), irrespective of prior gastrectomy, compared with best supportive care and placebo, says Chao. Patients who received TAS-102 experienced a median OS of 5.7 versus 3.6 months in those who received placebo. The rates of median PFS with TAS-102 and placebo were 2.0 and 1.8 months, respectively.

Patients enrolled in the study had to have received at least 2 prior lines of therapy, but many patients had progressed on as many as 4 lines of therapy, explains Chao. Although response rates were modest, many patients achieved disease control.