By: IPP Bureau
Last updated : October 24, 2025 7:42 am
OS is a key secondary endpoint of the 948-patient study, which is evaluating whether adding AstraZeneca's PD-L1 inhibitor to standard FLOT chemotherapy
AstraZeneca's checkpoint inhibitor Imfinzi (durvalumab) significantly reduced the risk of death in patients with early-stage gastric (GC) and gastroesophageal junction cancers (GEJC) when combined with chemotherapy in the perioperative setting, according to final overall survival (OS) data from the Phase III MATTERHORN trial presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) conference.
OS is a key secondary endpoint of the 948-patient study, which is evaluating whether adding AstraZeneca's PD-L1 inhibitor to standard FLOT chemotherapy — the combo administered before and after surgery, followed by Imfinzi monotherapy — can improve outcomes for previously untreated, resectable stage II, III, or IVA GC or GEJC.
Josep Tabernero, MD, PhD, Head of the Medical Oncology Department at Vall d'Hebron University Hospital and Director of the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO) in Barcelona, Spain, and principal investigator of the trial, said: “The MATTERHORN data are transformative for patients with early gastric and gastroesophageal cancers, where recurrence remains common and long-term prognosis is often poor despite curative-intent surgery and chemotherapy. Nearly seven in ten patients treated with the durvalumab-based perioperative regimen were alive at three years, with survival benefit observed regardless of PD-L1 status. These results support this regimen as a potential newstandard of care in this curative-intent setting.”
Susan Galbraith, Executive Vice President, Oncology R&D, AstraZeneca, said:
“Imfinzi’s overall survival results, showing a 22 per cent reduction in the risk of death, have the potential to change the treatment paradigm for patients with early gastric and gastroesophageal cancers. This is the first immunotherapy-based perioperative regimen to significantly extend survival in this setting, underscoring our strategy to bring novel treatments to earlier stages of disease where cure is possible.”
These findings establish the Imfinzi plus FLOT regimen as the first and only perioperative immunotherapy approach to demonstrate a survival benefit in early-stage gastric and gastroesophageal cancers, marking a significant advance in the pursuit of curative treatment options for patients.