Impact of Total Neoadjuvant Therapy vs. Standard Chemoradiotherapy in Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Trials

Multimodality treatment is a standard of care for LARC, but the optimal sequencing of the treatment modalities remains unclear. Several randomized clinical trials (RCTs) compared total neoadjuvant treatment (TNT) vs. standard neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) with inconsistent results. A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the efficacy of TNT in terms of complete pathological response (pCR) rate, disease-free and overall survival vs. standard CRT in LARC. A systematic search was performed through MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and meeting abstracts up to May 2020. RCTs comparing CRT vs. TNT followed by surgery in LARC were eligible for the study. Study selection and data extraction were done following PRISMA guidelines by two independent reviewers. The Mantel–Haenzel method was used to obtain a fixed-effects model of pooled odds or hazard ratios for the main outcomes. Eight RCTs, including 2301 patients, met the eligibility criteria. TNT significantly improved pCR rate (OR = 1.99, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.59–2.49; p < 0.001), 3-year disease-free-survival (DFS) (HR = 0.82, 95%CI 0.71–0.95; p = 0.01) and 3-year overall survival (OS) (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.81, p = 0.04). Grade 3–4 adverse events were not significantly different in both strategies (OR = 1.58; p = 0.14). An improved pCR rate was documented regardless of the type of radiotherapy administered (long vs. short fractionation schedules). No significant heterogeneity was found. The results of this meta-analysis show that TNT improves pCR and survival rates vs. standard preoperative CRT in patients with LARC. TNT may become a new standard of care in LARC, although longer follow-up is needed to properly assess its long-term impact on survival

Trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd) in patients (pts) with HER2-overexpressing/amplified (HER2+) metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC): Primary results from the multicenter, randomized, phase 2 DESTINY-CRC02 study.

Background: T-DXd (6.4 mg/kg, every 3 weeks [Q3W]) demonstrated antitumor activity in pts with HER2+ mCRC in DESTINY-CRC01 (Siena et al. Lancet Oncol. 2021). We present primary results of DESTINY-CRC02 (NCT04744831), which assessed the efficacy and safety of T-DXd (5.4 and 6.4 mg/ kg) in pts with HER2+ mCRC. Methods: This was a multicenter phase 2 study. Eligible pts had centrally confirmed HER2+ (immunohistochemistry [IHC] 3+ or IHC 2+/in situ hybridization [ISH]+) mCRC. Pts with RAS wild-type (wt) or mutant (m) mCRC were eligible. Pts had received prior standard therapy, unless contraindicated; prior anti-HER2 therapy was allowed. In stage 1, 80 pts were randomized 1:1 to 5.4 (n = 40) or 6.4 (n = 40) mg/kg T-DXd Q3W. In stage 2, an additional 42 pts received 5.4 mg/kg TDXd. Primary endpoint was confirmed objective response rate (cORR) by blinded independent central review (BICR). Secondary endpoints included duration of response (DoR), progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and safety. Results: At data cutoff (Nov 1, 2022), most pts in the 5.4 and 6.4 mg/kg T-DXd arms had HER2 IHC 3+ (78.0% and 85.0%), RAS wt tumors (82.9% and 85.0%), and a median of 3 and 4 prior lines of therapy, respectively. cORR was 37.8% (95% CI, 27.3-49.2%) in the 5.4 mg/kg arm and 27.5% (95% CI, 14.6-43.9%) in the 6.4 mg/kg arm (all partial responses in both arms). Key efficacy data are shown in the Table: Grade $3 treatment-emergent adverse events (AEs) were observed in 41/83 pts (49.4%) and 23/39 pts (59.0%) in the 5.4 and 6.4 mg/kg T-DXd arms, respectively. Serious AEs were observed in 20/83 pts (24.1%) and 12/39 pts (30.8%) in the 5.4 and 6.4 mg/kg arms, respectively. Independently adjudicated drug-related interstitial lung disease occurred in 7/83 pts (8.4%) with 5.4 mg/kg T-DXd and 5/39 pts (12.8%) with 6.4 mg/kg T-DXd, and most events were grade 1/2 (1 grade 5 in the 6.4 mg/kg arm). Conclusions: T-DXd showed promising antitumor activity in pts with HER2+ mCRC at both 5.4 and 6.4 mg/kg doses. Antitumor efficacy was observed irrespective of RAS mutation status at 5.4 mg/kg T-DXd, and in those with prior anti-HER2 therapy. Overall, safety was consistent with the known safety profile of T-DXd and favored the 5.4 mg/kg dose. Clinical trial information: NCT0474483