Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40455046›Full record

Trial reportJNCI cancer spectrum2025

INTEGRATE pooled phase 2/3 results are robust to postprogression switching and the winner's curse.

Yu Yang Soon, Katrin Sjoquist, Ian C Marschner, I Manjula Schou, Nick Pavlakis, David Goldstein, Kohei Shitara, Martin R Stockler, John Simes, Andrew J Martin

Registry-linked trialAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in JNCI cancer spectrum, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02773524 (A Randomised Phase III Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Study of Regorafenib in Refractory Advanced Gastro-Oesophageal Cancer), which is not on this map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT02773524 phase3unknown statusnot on this map

A Randomised Phase III Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Study of Regorafenib in Refractory Advanced Gastro-Oesophageal Cancer (AGOC)

TypeinterventionalSponsorAustralasian Gastro-Intestinal Trials GroupRan2016 to 2022Enrolled250ConditionsGastro-Oesophageal CancerArmsRegorafenib, Placebo
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Yu Yang SoonNHMRC Clinical Trials Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-1995-2170
Katrin SjoquistNHMRC Clinical Trials Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.ORCID 0000-0001-9028-8682
Ian C MarschnerNHMRC Clinical Trials Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-6225-1572
I Manjula SchouNHMRC Clinical Trials Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-9397-4976
Nick PavlakisDepartment of Medical Oncology, Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-1738-0316
David GoldsteinNelune Cancer Centre, Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Kohei ShitaraDepartment of Gastrointestinal Oncology, National Cancer Centre Hospital East, Kashiwa City, Japan.ORCID 0000-0001-5196-3630
Martin R StocklerNHMRC Clinical Trials Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-3793-8724
John SimesNHMRC Clinical Trials Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-3740-7563
Andrew J MartinNHMRC Clinical Trials Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.ORCID 0000-0001-5804-2295

Funding

BayerCanadian Cancer SocietyCancer AustraliaNHMRC 1037786NHMRC 1150467Singapore National Medical Research Council NMRC/MOH/000396
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe INTEGRATE phase 3 trial in advanced gastric and esophagogastric junction cancer involved pooling overall survival data with its preceding phase 2 trial, raising concerns about misalignment due to treatment switching in phase 2, or the "winner's curse." We evaluated phase 2 results, adjusted for these opposing effects, against phase 3 according to the prespecified statistical analysis plan.

methodsOverall survival estimates were adjusted for treatment switching using the rank-preserving structural failure time model (RPSFTM) and inverse probability of censoring weights (IPCW) method. A novel shrinkage approach mitigated overestimation from the winner's curse, and Bayesian prediction methods predicted phase 3 outcomes from phase 2 estimates. A simulation study modeled 10 000 seamless phase 2/3 trials to quantify bias in the pooled estimate.

resultsThe observed phase 3 hazard ratio (HR = 0.71, 95% CI = 0.54 to 0.93) for overall survival was more conservative than the adjusted phase 2 estimates (RPSFTM and novel shrinkage approach: HR = 0.61, 95% CI = 0.29 to 1.29; RPSFTM and Bayesian prediction: HR = 0.59, 95% CI = 0.48 to 0.73; IPCW and novel shrinkage approach: HR = 0.55, 95% CI = 0.31 to 0.99; IPCW and Bayesian prediction: HR = 0.58, 95% CI = 0.46 to 0.72). Simulations indicated negligible bias in the pooled log hazard ratio of ‒0.011 and 0.005 under the null and alternative hypotheses, respectively.

conclusionAdjusting phase 2 estimates for both treatment switching and the winner's curse produced point estimates similar to the unadjusted phase 3 results. A prospective plan to pool trial data under a closed testing procedure may be a reasonable strategy when a recruitment shortfall in phase 3 is anticipated, provided that potential sources of misalignment are thoroughly assessed. CLINICAL TRIAL INFORMATION: ACTRN12612000239864 (INTEGRATE I)NCT02773524 (INTEGRATE IIA).

Indexed as

Clinical Trials, Phase II as TopicClinical Trials, Phase III as TopicEsophageal NeoplasmsEsophagogastric JunctionStomach NeoplasmsBayes TheoremBiasComputer SimulationHumansProportional Hazards ModelsSurvival Analysis

Identifiers

PMID40455046
PMCPMC12212049

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Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.