Oncologist Fernando Rivera participates in the research published in The New England Journal of Medicine
An international study has shown that adding an immunotherapy treatment to standard chemotherapy improves survival in patients with stomach cancer and gastroesophageal junction cancer who are eligible for surgery.
The study, entitled “Perioperative Durvalumab in Gastric and Gastroesophageal Junction Cancer,” was published in the prestigious medical journal The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) and included the participation of Dr. Fernando Rivera, Head of the Medical Oncology Department at Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital and researcher at the IDIVAL Health Research Institute.
More hope for patients
The current standard treatment for these types of tumors is chemotherapy known as FLOT (fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin, and docetaxel), which is administered before and after surgery. Although effective, many patients experience relapse after surgery.
The new study has shown that adding the drug durvalumab—an immunotherapy medication that helps the immune system recognize and attack cancer cells—increases the chances of preventing cancer recurrence.
Researchers analyzed data from 948 patients from different countries, divided into two groups: one received chemotherapy with durvalumab, and the other received chemotherapy alone. After more than two years of follow-up, the results were clear:
• 67% of patients treated with durvalumab remained relapse-free at two years, compared with 58% in the group without immunotherapy.
• Overall survival was also higher: 75.7% versus 70.4%.
• In addition, complete disappearance of the tumor in the tissue analyzed after surgery was almost three times more frequent with durvalumab (19% versus 7%).
Well-tolerated treatment
Serious side effects were similar in both groups (around 71%), and the treatment did not cause more delays in surgery or in restarting chemotherapy after the operation.
These results confirm that combining durvalumab with FLOT is not only effective but also safe for patients.
