Chemo-Immunotherapy Using Lentinan for the Treatment of Gastric Cancer with Liver Metastases

Authors: Kenji Ina, Ryuichi Furuta, Takae Kataoka, Satoshi Kayukawa, Hiroko Ina, and Masahiko Yoneda

Journal: Medical Sciences

Study Design: Retrospective chart review

Participants: 12 patients with liver metastases from gastric cancer who received lentinan in combination with chemotherapy.

Intervention: Lentinan (2 mg) was administered every 2 weeks in combination with chemotherapy regimens that included S-1 monotherapy, S-1/cisplatin, or PSC triple therapy (paclitaxel, S-1, and cisplatin).

Outcome Measures:

• Objective response to chemotherapy
• Overall survival (OS)

Summary: The study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of chemo-immunotherapy using lentinan in patients with gastric cancer and liver metastases. The results showed an overall response rate of 42% (5/12) and a disease control rate of 83%. The median overall survival was 407 days. The study also highlighted a case of complete response (CR) in a patient with multiple liver metastases and primary gastric lesions, which disappeared after chemo-immunotherapy with lentinan and trastuzumab (a targeted therapy for HER2-positive tumors). The authors suggest that lentinan’s synergistic action with targeted cancer therapy might contribute to the observed therapeutic effects. They also discuss the potential of lentinan to enhance the chemotherapeutic effects in drug-refractory tumor microenvironments. The study concludes that chemo-immunotherapy using lentinan could be a promising treatment option for patients with metastatic gastric cancer, particularly those with HER2-positive tumors.