Abstract:
Objective To evaluate the clinical efficacy of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) antibody for advanced gastric/gastroesophageal junction (G/GEJ) adenocarcinoma.
Methods Clinical data of patients with advanced G/GEJ adenocarcinoma treated with PD-1 monoclonal antibody at Henan Cancer Hospital were collected from September 2018 to September 2020.
Results Overall, 123 patients were examined, among whom 5 were lost to follow-up. The median follow-up time was 12.6 months. In 118 patients, the objective response rate (ORR) was 22.0%, the disease control rate (DCR) was 51.7%, median progression-free survival (PFS) was 5.0 months, and median overall survival (OS) was 8.9 months. The ORRs to first-, second-, and third-line treatment and beyond were 37.0%, 20.5%, and 14.9%, respectively (P=0.002); the DCRs were 81.5%, 54.5%, and 29.8%, respectively (P<0.001); the median PFS were 9.9, 4.8, and 3.2 months, respectively; and the median OS were 19.0, 7.8, and 7.3 months, respectively. After receiving anti-PD-1 therapy combined with chemotherapy, anti-vascular, and chemotherapy and anti-vascular therapy, the median PFS were 5.8, 4.4, and 5.0 months, respectively, and the median OS were 11.4, 8.2, and 8.2 months, respectively. Immunization combined with chemotherapy as first-line (22 cases) and second-line (20 cases) treatment resulted in a median PFS of 9.0 and 4.7 months, respectively (P=0.003) and a median OS of no reach and 7.8 months, respectively (P=0.007). Patients with PD-L1 expression (CPS≥1% vs. <1%) had ORRs of 37.1% and 13.3%, respectively; DCRs of 65.7% and 46.7%, respectively; median PFS of 5.8 and 4.7 months, respectively, and median OS of 11.3 and 9.3 months, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that age, ECOG score, number of metastases, peritoneal metastasis, and number of immunotherapy lines were independent influencing factors of OS (P<0.05), and patient age was a protective factor (HR=0.498, 95%CI:0.255–0.974).
Conclusions Early treatment of advanced G/GEJ adenocarcinoma with anti-PD-1 combination therapy can effectively prolong PFS and OS. Anti-PD-1 combined with chemotherapy and anti-vascular therapy have certain advantages but warrant further exploration and research.