This is a single-center, prospective observational study in which surgical GS patients will be recruited. Blood samples will be taken before and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy and in the month following surgery, while tumor-punctured tissue and surgical tissue will be collected before neoadjuvant chemotherapy and surgery, respectively. Patients included in the study will be followed for at least 6 months. The workflow of our study is presented in Fig. 1.
Primary aims: Our study aims to explore the correlation between blood ctDNA response before and after neoadjuvant therapy and the effect of neoadjuvant therapy.
Secondary aims:
1. To evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of maximum mutation frequency (VAF) or average VAF on ctDNA response after neoadjuvant therapy for advanced gastric cancer;
2. The consistency of ctDNA and tissue DNA detection before operation and the detection rate of ctDNA in gastric cancer were evaluated;
3. To assess the prognostic value of minimal residual disease (MRD) detection methods on the likelihood of recurrence in patients receiving radical surgery for stage II or stage III gastric cancer following neoadjuvant treatment;
4. The correlation between ctDNA before and after the operation with clinical progress-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS);
Study Population
The study population will be prospectively recruited from the Xijing Hospital of Digestive Diseases, affiliated with the Air Force Military Medical University (the Fourth Military Medical University). The participants are eligible for the current study if they meet the following criteria before neoadjuvant chemotherapy: 1. It is expected to complete radical D2 lymph node dissection (the number of lymph nodes examined must be at least 15 to ensure the quality of the operation). 2. Physical condition and organ function allow large abdominal surgery. 3. Be willing and able to follow the protocol during the study. 4. Provide written informed consent before entering the study screening, and the patient has learned that he can withdraw from the study at any time without any loss. 5. Patients aged 18–70 years with gastric adenocarcinoma confirmed by pathology before the operation
The total course of chemotherapy and adjuvant chemotherapy was 6 months, and the survival period was expected to be > 6 months. 7. No other serious concomitant diseases and good organ function. 8. There are no medical contraindications that seriously affect anesthesia and surgery. 9. Have not received anti-tumor treatment (such as surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy); 10. The 8th Edition American Joint Committee on Cancer(AJCC) stage is ct3-4an1-3m0 gastric cancer patients. 11. The blood routine examination standard shall meet the following standards: white blood cell (WBC) > 4.0 × 10/L; b. ANC > 1.5 × 10/L༛ c. absolute neutrophil count(ANC) ≥ 1.5 × 109/L༛ d. platelet count(HB) ≥ 80 g/L༛ e. platelet count(PLT) ≥ 100 × 109/L༛12. The biochemical examination shall meet the following standards: a total bilirubin (TBIL) ≤ 1.5 ×upper limit of normal (ULN)༛ b. alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) < 2.5 × ULN༛ c. blood urea nitrogen (Bun) and creatinine (Cr) ≤ 1.5 × The clearance rate of ULN or endogenous creatinine ≥ 50 ml/min (Cockcroft Gault formula). 13. No history of upper abdominal surgery (except laparoscopic cholecystectomy); No history of peritonitis and pancreatitis. 14. There are no other serious diseases that make the survival time < 5 years. 15. Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) > 60; Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG)score: 0–2. 16. No history of other tumors
Exclusion criteria: 1. Pregnant or lactating women who are in the reproductive period and do not take effective contraceptive measures. 2. Complicated with serious medical diseases or conditions: such as clinically serious (i.e. active) heart disease, serious and uncontrolled medical diseases, infections, serious uncontrollable digestive system disorders, serious electrolyte disorders, active disseminated intravascular coagulation, major organ failure, such as decompensated heart, lung, liver, kidney failure, peripheral neuropathy, etc., unable to tolerate D2 radical gastrectomy. 3. Organ transplantation requires immunosuppressive therapy. 4. Serious uncontrolled repeated infection or other serious uncontrolled concomitant diseases. 5. History of other malignant tumors within 5 years from the start of the trial, except cured skin basal cell carcinoma and cervical carcinoma in situ. 6. Patients without self-knowledge ability and mental disorders. 7. Have a history of organ transplantation (including bone marrow autotransplantation and peripheral stem cell transplantation). 8. Use other test drugs at the same time or in other clinical trials. 9. Those who have received biological therapy or other anti-cancer traditional Chinese medicine with an interval of fewer than 4 weeks. 10. HER-2 test is positive or esophageal gastric junction adenocarcinoma, patients who are willing to receive Herceptin treatment or patients with indications and willingness to receive immunotherapy; 11. Postoperative chemotherapy is not acceptable. 12. Patients with peripheral neuropathy nct-ctcae ≥ grade 2; 13. Tumor recidivism surrounding organs (T4b) or combined with distant metastasis. 14. For those who are allergic to the drugs in this study protocol, the researcher determines that they are not suitable for participating in this clinical study.
A follow-up examination will be performed on the 3rd month, 6th month, 1 year, and 2 years following the CT scan by an experienced surgeon. Tumor markers were examined every 3 months.
Clinical and demographic data will be collected, such as age, sex, smoking status, past medical history, family history of cancer, radiological reports, tumor markers, pathology reports, and postoperative TNM staging.
Intervention
Neoadjuvant chemotherapy
Preoperative SOX chemotherapy consists of three-week cycles, including intravenous administration of oxaliplatin at a dose of 130 mg/m2 on day 1, and oral administration of S-1 at a dose of 40–60 mg twice a day (BID) from day 1 to day 14. The dose of S-1 is dependent on the patient's body surface area (BSA): 40 mg BID for BSA < 1.25 m2, 50 mg BID for 1.25 m2 < BSA < 1.5 m2, and 60 mg BID for BSA > 1.5 m2. Day 15 to day 21 is the rest period.
Tumor Response And Toxicity Criteria
Lesions will be evaluated using enhanced Computer tomography(CT), Endoscopic ultrasonography(EUS), and Magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)as needed according to the RECIST 1.1 criteria after the third cycles of SOX. Toxicities will be measured using the National Cancer Institute Common Toxicity Criteria for Adverse Events (NCI-CTC AE), version 4.0, and recorded in the AE report form. Serious adverse events (SAE) will be defined according to the rules of good clinical practice (GCP) and reported to the lead center within one working day, followed by prompt notification to other centers.
Follow-up
After the last cycle of adjuvant therapy, subjects will enter survival follow-up to collect disease progression (date of progression) and subsequent anti-tumor treatment information until the subject's death, loss to follow-up, withdrawal of informed consent, or termination of the study by the sponsor. During this period, follow-up will be conducted every 3 months (± 7 days) in the first 1–2 years, every 6 months (± 14 days) in the third to fifth years, and annually thereafter, to collect survival information and information on subsequent treatment.
Sample Collection And Dna Isolation
Blood sample processing and cfDNA isolation
All sampling will be completed in the Department of Digestive Surgery at Xijing Hospital. A blood collection protocol was followed according to guidelines and regulations. 20 ml of peripheral blood will be collected and processed into an EDTA anticoagulation tube. If the blood sample was not processed immediately, it would be prepared and stored at 28°C for no more than 8 hours. Plasma should be centrifuged from whole blood during the shelf-life period. Plasma samples should be stored at -25° to -15°C for no longer than 2 weeks. Methods for collecting, processing, and analyzing blood samples are detailed in blood collecting standard operational procedures.
Tissue Processing And Genomic Dna Extraction
Tissue samples will be obtained from local tumors during diagnosis. Both surgical samples and punctured tissue are acceptable. Tissue processing and genomic DNA extraction Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue sections will be evaluate for tumor cell content using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. Only samples with a tumor content of ≥ 20% are eligible for subsequent analyses. FFPE tissue sections will be place in a 1.5 microcentrifuge tube and deparaffinized with mineral oil. Samples will be incubate with lysis buffer and proteinase K at 56°C overnight until the tissue was completely digested. The lysate will be subsequently incubate at 80°C for 4 hours to reverse formaldehyde crosslinks. Genomic DNA will be isolate from tissue samples using the ReliaPrep™ FFPE gDNA Miniprep System (Promega) and quantify using the Qubit™ dsDNA HS Assay Kit (Thermo Fisher Scientific) following the manufacturer’s instructions.
Sample Size Calculation
Based on a previous study, we assume the response proportion for ctDNA to neoadjuvant treatment to be 30%, with a non-response rate of 70%. Our study will focus on cT3-4aN1-3M0 GS patients, with a non-response rate and response rate for 2-year DFS of 40% and 70%, respectively[7]. Given this information, we plan to recruit 84 individuals for the final analysis. A result will be considered significant when the P value is < 0.05.
Data analysis
Full Analysis Set: An analysis set based on the intent-to-treat population (ITT), which includes randomized patients who have taken at least one dose of medication and have undergone at least one primary effectiveness evaluation of the treatment. If a patient does not observe the entire treatment process, the last observation data is used to calculate the final result based on the last observation carried forward (LOCF).
Using Fisher's exact test for categorical variables and the Mann-Whitney (rank-sum) test for continuous variables, we will compare preoperative ctDNA-positive and ctDNA-negative patients' clinical characteristics. To determine the correlation between ctDNA maximum VAF and tumor size, tumor volume, or efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, the Spearman correlation was used. The log-rank method was used to compare ctDNA detection with pathologic response and tumor regression grade (TRG). Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were compared between different ctDNA statuses using log-rank tests.
Data analysis will be performed using SPSS version 20.0 and GraphPad Prism version 6.0. All statistical comparisons will be performed with two-sided tests; P values of < 0.05 will be considered statistically significant, and parameter estimates will be included the 95% confidence interval (95% CI).