A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase III study of cisplatin plus a fluoropyrimidine with or without ramucirumab as first-line therapy in patients with metastatic gastric or gastroesophogeal junction (GEJ) adenocarcinoma (RAINFALL, NCT02314117).

TPS178 Background: Ramucirumab, a human IgG1 monoclonal antibody directed to the ectodomain of VEGFR-2, prevents ligand binding to the receptor, blocking activation of downstream receptor-mediated pathways. Ramucirumab has demonstrated significant improvement in overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) in 2 phase III registration studies (REGARD, RAINBOW) in patients in second-line treatment of gastric cancer. This global phase III trial will compare PFS in patients with HER2-negative, metastatic gastric or GEJ adenocarcinoma receiving ramucirumab with cisplatin/capecitabine (or 5-FU) versus placebo with cisplatin/capecitabine (or 5-FU) as first-line treatment. The trial is conducted in 137 sites in the Americas, Europe and Japan and is currently open to enrollment. Methods: Eligible patients will be randomized to receive ramucirumab (8mg/kg on days 1 and 8, based upon population pharmacokinetic modelling) or placebo with cisplatin/capecitabine every 21-day cycle until disease progression...