Pretreatment Glasgow prognostic score as a predictor of outcomes in nivolumab-treated patients with advanced gastric cancer.

In Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, nivolumab might provide overall survival benefits for patients with advanced gastric cancer. However, it is effective only in a limited number of patients. The Glasgow prognostic score is an indicator of the systematic inflammatory response and nutritional status. This study aimed to investigate the ability of the Glasgow prognostic score and other markers to predict the outcomes of patients treated with nivolumab. We reviewed the medical records of patients treated for advanced gastric cancer and who received nivolumab between February 2015 and June 2019 at Hyogo Cancer Center. The patients were categorized into two groups according to their Glasgow prognostic scores. Overall, 53.3% and 46.7% of the patients were assigned to groups with Glasgow prognostic scores of 0 and 1/2, respectively. The median durations of progression-free and overall survival of the participants were 2.3 and 5.7 months, respectively. The patients with a Glasgow prognostic score of 0 had significantly higher median overall survival than those with scores of 1 or 2 (16.4 vs. 4.2 months; p = 0.0006). This observation suggests that a pretreatment Glasgow prognostic score of 0 is associated with better outcomes, and this scoring system may be used as a predictor of outcomes in patients with advanced gastric cancer treated with nivolumab

The impact of nutritional status in nivolumab-treated patients with advanced esophageal cancer.

Although phase III trials have reported improved overall survival in patients with advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma following treatment with nivolumab, as compared with chemotherapy (paclitaxel or docetaxel), the treatment was effective only in a limited number of patients. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine whether there is a correlation between nutritional status (Glasgow prognostic score, prognostic nutritional index, and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio) and prognosis of advanced esophageal cancer in patients treated with taxane or nivolumab therapy. The medical records of 35 patients who received taxane monotherapy (paclitaxel or docetaxel), for advanced esophageal cancer between October 2016 and November 2018 (taxane cohort) were reviewed. The clinical data of 37 patients who received nivolumab therapy between March 2020 and September 2021 (nivolumab cohort) were collected. The median overall survival was 9.1 months for the taxane cohort and 12.5 months for the nivolumab cohort. In the nivolumab cohort, patients with good nutritional status had significantly better median overall survival than those with poor nutritional status (18.1 vs. 7.6 months, respectively, p = 0.009, classified by prognostic nutritional index, 15.5 vs. 4.3 months, respectively, p = 0.012, classified by Glasgow prognostic score), whereas the prognosis of the patients treated with taxane therapy was less affected by the nutritional status. This suggests that the pretreatment nutritional status of patients with advanced esophageal cancer is a key factor for successful outcomes, especially for treatment with nivolumab

Clinical Factors of Delayed Perforation after Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection for Gastric Neoplasms

Background. Delayed perforation is a rare but severe complication of endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) for early gastric neoplasm (EGN). The aim of this study was to clarify clinical factors related to delayed perforation after ESD. Methods. A total of 1158 consecutive patients with 1199 EGNs underwent ESD at our hospital between January 2000 and December 2015. Univariate analysis was used to identify clinicopathological factors related to delayed perforation. Moreover, duration of cautery needed for hemostasis was measured by comparison between perforated and nonperforated points in patients with delayed perforation. Results. Delayed perforation occurred in 5 of 1158 consecutive patients with 1199 EGNs who underwent ESD (0.42%). All cases were diagnosed within 24 h after ESD and recovered with conservative management. On univariate analysis, location in the upper stomach was the factor most significantly associated with delayed perforation (P<0.01). Duration of cautery needed for hemostasis was significantly longer at perforated points (9 s) than at nonperforated points (3.5 s) in five patients. Conclusions. Location in the upper stomach was the risk factor most prominently associated with delayed perforation after ESD for EGNs. In addition, delayed perforation appears associated with excessive electrocautery for hemostasis