We were delighted with the turnout at our recent Dragon’s Den session in Athens, and would like to thank the organisers, presenters and judges for contibuting to the session. The winning proposal was from Dr. Sara Jamel (London, UK). Please find below further information, including how to register your interest in participating.
LASER-DCR study: Health-related quality of life following definitive chemoradiotherapy versus neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and surgery for gastroesophageal cancer
Sara Jamel, Sheraz Markar, Professor George Hanna, Imperial College London, United Kingdom
The short term impact of potentially curative esophageal cancer surgery on health-related quality of life (HRQL) is well established. The recent LASER study, conducted by the Young Investigators division of the ESDE has further characterised the long-term effects of esophagectomy on HRQL in survivorship, including gastrointestinal function, nutritional status, respiratory complications, exercise tolerance and social wellbeing. Increasingly, there is a drive towards an organ preservation strategy in esophageal cancer, with definitive chemoradiotherapy and active surveillance approaches currently under investigation. However, the impact of definitive chemoradiation on HRQL remains uncertain. The objective of LASER-DCR is to evaluate the prevalence of persistent symptoms among disease-free patients at least one year post definitive chemoradiation for esophageal cancer, as compared with those undergoing neoadjuvant chemoradiation and surgery.
This European multicentre study will compare HRQL outcomes between patients treated with definitive chemoradiation compared with noeadjuvant chemoradiation and surgery. Consecutive disease-free patients who are at least one year post definitive chemoradiotherapy for esophageal or junctional cancer (Siewert I and II), administered during the study period, will be invited to complete the LASER questionnaire, EORTC QLQ-C30, OES18 and OG25. Outcomes will be compared with patients from the LASER-I cohort who received neoadjuvant chemoradiation followed by surgery. Data will be analysed by an in house statistician at Imperial College London.
This study will provide robust evidence regarding the impact of definitive chemoradiation on HRQL among patients with esophageal and junctional cancer.
To register your interest for this study, or for further infromation, please reply to this email, or email study co-ordinator Dr Sara Jamel (s.jamel@imperial.ac.uk)
Other collaborative studies
ARCADE study: Adjuvant PostopeRative Chemotherapy for Adenocarcinoma of the Esophagus or Gastroesophageal Junction
Styliani Mantziari and Markus Schäfer, Lausanne University Hospital
The optimal treatment strategy for locally advanced adenocarcinoma of the lower esophagus and junction remains a matter of ongoing debate, with preoperative chemoradiation (CRT) and perioperative chemotherapy (CT) being compared in major randomized trials. Perioperative CT is increasingly utilized, however, even in pivotal trials, only 42 – 60% patients receive the postoperative part of treatment. Recent data from pancreatic cancer suggest that delaying initiation of adjuvant chemotherapy >12 postoperative weeks may not have an adverse effect on long-term survival, and that late completion of postoperative CT is associated with improved outcomes compared with no postoperative CT. The impact of completion of postoperative CT in esophageal and junctional adenocarcinoma remains uncertian, with conflicting data regarding the survival benefit of postoeprative chemotherapy in esophagogastric adenocarcinoma. The primary aim of the ARCADE multicentre collaborative study is to assess the impact of late or no administration of adjuvant CT after curative surgery for locally advanced adenocarcinoma of the lower esophagus or gastroesophageal junction with respect to disease-free and overall survival.
Please find attached study synopsis and cover letter. For further information and to register your interest, please contact Dr Styliani Mantziari (stella.mantziari@gmail.com).
We are delighted to announce that collaboration of the training chapter has resulted in a new publication:cardiorespiratory comorbidity and postoperative complications following esophagectomy: a European multicenter cohort study. Ann Surg Oncol 2019. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6682565/) The results of this study indicatethat cardiorespiratory comorbidity and impaired pulmonary function are associated with increased risk of postoperative complications.
