Adjuvant chemotherapy (ECF regimen) for patients with gastric adenocarcinoma.
OBJECTIVE
ECF is an active regimen in advanced gastric adenocarcinoma (GAC). We used ECF as an adjuvant therapy in a cohort of patients with GAC who underwent curative surgery and describe their results in terms of feasibility and outcome.


METHODS
Forty-seven patients with locally advanced GAC underwent curative surgery followed by 4 to 6 courses of adjuvant ECF. Their median age was 59 years (range 32-74) and UICC stage was III-IV in 28 patients (59%). Partial or total gastrectomy was performed in 49% and 47% of cases, respectively.


RESULTS
Chemotherapy was well tolerated, the main grade 3/4 toxicities being neutropenia (47%) without severe infections, and anorexia (11%). Port adverse events were recorded in 17%. There where no treatment-related deaths. With a median follow-up of 65 months, the median overall- and relapse-free survivals were 50.1 months and 42.6 months, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
The adjuvant ECF regimen is safe and feasible in resected patients with locally advanced GAC. The survival in our series compares favorably with cohorts described by others, supporting our confidence on using adjuvant ECF for patients who decide to undertake such type of treatment. ECF might be a reasonable treatment arm to be used in randomized trials of adjuvant chemotherapy.
Saletti
Piercarlo
P
Istituto Oncologico della Svizzera Italiana (IOSI), Bellinzona, Switzerland. pcsaletti@bluewin.ch
Berthold
Dominique
D
Ghielmini
Michele
M
Zucca
Emanuele
E
Fazio
Nicola
N
Goldhirsch
Aron
A
Cavalli
Franco
F
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D002945:Cisplatin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015251:Epirubicin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality; D016019:Survival Analysis
D015251:Epirubicin; D002945:Cisplatin; D005472:Fluorouracil