The impact of neoadjuvant therapy for gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma on postoperative morbidity and mortality.

Abstract

156 Background: The effects of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (CTX) or chemoradiotherapy (CTX-RT) on postoperative complications following surgical resection of adenocarcinomas of the stomach and gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) have not been well studied. Methods: We identified 308 patients undergoing a surgery-first approach and 145 patients undergoing neoadjuvant therapy (CTX, n = 73 and CTX-RT, n = 72) followed by curative-intent surgeryfor adenocarcinomas of the stomach and GEJ from 1995-2014. We compared the baseline characteristics and the postoperative outcomes between the two groups using univariate and multivariate analyses. Results: Patients receiving neoadjuvant therapy were significantly more likely to be of younger median age (63 y vs. 71 y), have tumors of the GEJ (37% vs. 17%), to undergo esophagogastrectomy (51% vs. 26%) and D2 lymphadenectomy (39% vs. 27%), and to have more advanced stage disease than patients undergoing surgery first. There were no differences in overall 30-day morbidity or mortality rates between the neoadjuvant therapy and surgery-first groups, respectively (Table). However, patients undergoing surgery first were significantly more likely to have higher-grade complications than those undergoing neoadjuvant therapy. Conclusions: Despite having more advanced disease and undergoing higher-risk surgical procedures, patients with adenocarcinomas of the stomach or GEJ who receive neoadjuvant therapy prior to surgery are less likely to have major post-operative complications than patients treated with a surgery-first approach. Concerns about higher rates of post-operative complications should not deter the use of neoadjuvant therapy for gastroesophageal cancer. [Table: see text]