The role of adjuvant platinum-based chemotherapy in esophagogastric cancer patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy prior to definitive surgery.

Background And Objectives: For patients with operable esophagogastric cancer, peri-operative chemotherapy confers a significant overall survival benefit compared to surgery alone, however only 30-40% of patients demonstrate histopathological response. It is unclear whether those with no neoadjuvant chemotherapy response should go onto receive adjuvant chemotherapy, as no further benefit may be conferred.

Methods: Esophagogastric cancers were prospectively captured with associated histopathological tumor regression grades following neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

Individual patient oesophageal cancer 3D models for tailored treatment.

Background: A model to predict chemotherapy response would provide a marked clinical benefit, enabling tailored treatment of oesophageal cancer, where less than half of patients respond to the routinely administered chemotherapy.

Methods: Cancer cells were established from tumour biopsies taken from individual patients about to undergo neoadjuvant chemotherapy. A 3D-tumour growth assay (3D-TGA) was developed, in which cancer cells were grown with or without supporting mesenchymal cells, then subjected to chemo-sensitivity testing using the standard chemotherapy administered in clinic, and a novel emerging HDAC inhibitor, Panobinostat.