TransValid-A-Studie zur präoperativen, 5-FU-basierten Chemo-/Radiotherapie bei Rektumkarzinomen: Machbarkeit, Durchführbarkeit und erste Ergebnisse
by Johannes Cornelius Martens
Date of Examination:2025-04-03
Date of issue:2025-03-14
Advisor:Prof. Dr. Torsten Liersch
Referee:Prof. Dr. Torsten Liersch
Referee:Prof. Dr. Julie Schanz
Referee:Prof. Dr. Dr. Philipp Kauffmann
Referee:Prof. Dr. Thomas Meyer
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Abstract
English
The single-arm, multicenter TransValid-A study (ClinTrials. gov: NCT03034473; funded by the German Research Foundation, DFG; GZ: LI 1727/3-1) examined under real-world conditions the feasibility and efficacy of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-based preoperative chemoradiotherapy (CRT) with simultaneous collection and preservation of biomaterial in patients with locally advanced adenocarci-noma of the lower and mid rectum (LARC; inferior tumor margin < 12 cm from the anal verge, av) of clinical (c) stages cUICC ≥ II. After a peri-/postoperative quality-controlled total mesorectal excision (qTME), all patients were to receive adjuvant chemotherapy (adCTx) with 5-FU or preferably with FOLFOX. The primary endpoint was disease-free survival (DFS). Between 08/2011 and 01/2015, 194 evaluable LARC patients (f: 36.1%; m: 63.9%; median age: 64 y; ECOG-0: 63.9%; -1: 28.4% and -2: 7.7%) from 19 ac-tive study centers (70.4% of all registered centers) were enrolled in the study. The LARCs (cUICC-II: 14.4%; ≥ III: 85.1%) were localized in 41.8% and 57.7% in the lower (< 6 cm) and mid (6 to < 12 cm from av) rectum. 180 patients had started the preoperative CRT according to protocol with RT + 5-FU (92.8%), with RT + 5-FU + oxaliplatin (OX; 3.3%) and with RT + capeci¬ta¬bine (CAP; 3.9%), respectively. Subsequently, 174 of the CRT-treated patients underwent qTME with optimal, moderate and poor quality in 84.5%, 7.5% and 1.7%, respectively. Major complications (CTC-AE grade 3 and grade 4) occurred in 24.1%; 30-day mortality was 1.2%. The 73.6% rate of stages ≤ II (vs. ≥ III in 26.4%) showed a clear tumor response to preoperative CRT. A complete remission (CR) was achieved in 20.1 %; the rate of ypUICC stages 0 / I was 19.5% and 26.4%, re-spectively. The multivariable Cox regression model for DFS using the risk fac-tors ypUICC status, LNM/LN ratio, age and CRM status, revealed only stages ≤ I to be significantly predictive for excellent DFS vs patients with stages ≥ III (HR: 2.755; 95%-CI [1.302; 5.8]; p=0.008). During MTT, 4 centers achieved the highest biomaterial ratio (planned/submitted) of 60% - 70%; in 6 other centers this rate was 20% - 30%. The TransValid-A study was safe to conduct and ensured biomaterial of good quantity and quality for ongoing translational research projects.
Keywords: locally advanced rectal cancer; translational research; preoperative chemoradiotherapy