Safety and short-term efficacy of neoadjuvant FLOT therapy in patients with resectable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Abstract

373 Background: Docetaxel and cisplatin, 5-FU (DCF) is a standard neoadjuvant treatment for resectable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) based on the results of the JCOG1109 study. However, DCF therapy showed that 18.6% of patients achieved pathological complete response but 16.3% had febrile neutropenia (FN) and needed hydration. In Western countries, 5-FU plus leucovorin, oxaliplatin, docetaxel (FLOT) is a standard perioperative treatment for resectable gastric and esophagogastric junction adenocarcinoma patients. FLOT therapy showed that 2% of patients had FN and did not need hydration. However, safety and efficacy of neoadjuvant FLOT (NeoFLOT) in locally advanced ESCC patients was unclear. Methods: The subjects for this study were patients with resectable ESCC diagnosed as cT1N1-3M0, cT2-3N0-3M0, and cT1-3N0-3M1 (UICC-TNM 8th) and received NeoFLOT therapy between Feb 2021 to July 2022 at our hospital. NeoFLOT therapy (oxaliplatin: 85 mg/m2, leucovorin: 200 mg/m2, 5-FU: 2600 mg/m2, docetaxel: 50 mg/m2, every 2 weeks) was administered for 4 courses. We evaluated adverse events (CTCAE ver. 5.0) and histopathological response. Results: We identified 16 eligible patients and 12 of all patients (75%) underwent surgery. 4 patients (25%) resulted in progressive disease (1 patient underwent chemoradiotherapy and 3 patients underwent surgery). R0 resection rate was 75% and complete pathologic response in primary tumor was seen in 2 patients (17%). The most common adverse events were hematologic toxicity, with grade 3 or 4 leukopenia in 6 patients (38%), neutropenia in 9 patients (56%). The common non-hematological toxicity, with all grades deceased appetite in 7 patients (44%) and malaise in 8 patients (50%), peripheral neuropathy in (44%). Furthermore, the incidence of FN was 6%. In patients with grade 2 or higher renal failure, no one (0%) had worsened renal function. Conclusions: NeoFLOT therapy showed well-tolerated and comparable efficacy with DCF therapy.