Prospective Randomized Trial Comparing Gastrectomy, Metastasectomy Plus Systemic Therapy Versus Systemic Therapy Alone: GYMSSA Trial

Completed · Phase 3

Conditions studied: Gastric Cancer

In brief

Background: * Gastric (stomach) cancer is a rare cancer. In most cases, by the time it has been diagnosed it has spread to other organs in the body and the chance of a cure is very small. The standard treatment for gastric cancer is a combination of chemotherapy drugs. * Researchers are interested in finding out if surgically removing all tumors before beginning chemotherapy for stomach cancer can slow or halt its spread better than giving chemotherapy alone. Objectives: \- To determine whether tumor removal surgery followed by chemotherapy is more effective in treating gastric cancer than chemotherapy given alone. Eligibility: \- Patients 18 years of age and older who have been diagnosed with gastric cancer. Design: * All patients will undergo an initial physical examination, blood tests, imaging scans, and a laparoscopy to determine the extent of the disease. * Half of the participants will be assigned to have surgery first and then chemotherapy; the other half will be assigned to have chemotherapy alone. * The surgery-plus-chemotherapy group will have major surgery to remove all tumors in the stomach and abdominal area, followed by a recovery time of up to 4 weeks. Chemotherapy will begin 6 to 8 weeks after surgery. * The chemotherapy-only group will begin treatment within 2 weeks of laparoscopy. * All patients will receive four chemotherapy drugs: 5-Fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin, and irinotecan. The drugs are given intravenously over 2 days every 2 weeks (one cycle) for 12 cycles (about 6 months), either at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center or at home with a referring oncologist. Patients in the surgery group who have tumors in the peritoneum will receive an additional set of chemotherapy drugs in a separate treatment. * During the chemotherapy cycles, patients will provide blood samples approximately once a week and will have physical examinations and scans on a regular basis. * Patients will return to the NIH Clinical Center for follow-up visits about every 4 months for 2 years, then every 6 months for 3 years and yearly thereafter.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT00941655

Run by

National Cancer Institute (NCI)

People needed

15

Starts

2009-07-22

Expected to finish

2012-06-18

Last updated by the study team

2019-11-13

Who can join

Age: 18 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may not qualify if…

• Prior treatment with 5-FU, leucovorin, oxaliplatin, and irinotecan (FOLFOXIRI) (treatment with any of the components as separate regimens is allowable).
• Inability to tolerate any of the chemotherapeutic agents.
• Grade 2 or greater neuropathy.
• Women of child-bearing potential who are pregnant or breastfeeding because of the potentially dangerous effects of the chemotherapy on the fetus or infant.
• Active systemic infections, coagulation disorders or other major medical illnesses of the cardiovascular, respiratory or immune system; myocardial infarction; cardiac arrhythmias; obstructive or restrictive pulmonary disease.
• Brain metastases or a history of brain metastases.
• Childs B or C cirrhosis or with evidence of severe portal hypertension by history, endoscopy, or radiologic studies.
• Weight less than 40 kg.
• Significant ascites, greater than 1000cc in the absence of peritoneal disease.
• History of congestive heart failure and/or an left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) less than 40%.
• Note: Patients at increased risk for coronary artery disease or cardiac dysfunction (e.g., greater than 65yo, diabetes, history of hypertension, elevated low-density lipoprotein (LDL), first degree relative with coronary artery disease) will undergo full cardiac evaluation and will not be eligible if they demonstrate significant irreversible ischemia on stress thallium or an ejection fraction < 40%.
• Significant chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or other chronic pulmonary restrictive disease with pulmonary function tests (PFT's) indicating an forced expiratory volume 1 (FEV1) less than 50% or a carbon monoxide diffusing capacity (DLCO) less than 40% predicted for age.
• Note: Patients who have shortness of breath with minimal exertion or who are at risk for pulmonary disease (e.g., chronic smokers) will undergo pulmonary function testing and will not be eligible if their FEV1 is less than 50% of expected.

Where it is running

• National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, 9000 Rockville Pike — Bethesda, Maryland, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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