Quality of life with docetaxel plus cisplatin and fluorouracil compared with cisplatin and fluorouracil from a phase III trial for advanced gastric or gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma: the V-325 Study Group.
OBJECTIVE
Therapy of patients with advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction cancer should provide symptom relief and improve quality of life (QOL) because most patients are symptomatic at baseline. Using validated instruments, we prospectively assessed QOL (even after completion of protocol treatment) as one of the secondary end points of the V325 phase III trial.


METHODS
Four hundred forty-five patients randomly received either docetaxel 75 mg/m(2) and cisplatin 75 mg/m(2) each on day 1 plus fluorouracil 750 mg/m(2)/d continuous infusion on days 1 to 5 every 3 weeks (DCF) or cisplatin 100 mg/m(2) on day 1 plus fluorouracil 1,000 mg/m(2)/d continuous infusion on days 1 to 5 every 4 weeks (CF). The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire C30 (EORTC QLQ-C30) and, where available, the EuroQOL EQ-5D questionnaire were administered every 8 weeks from baseline until progression and then every 3 months. Time to definitive deterioration of QOL parameters was analyzed.


RESULTS
The proportions of patients having assessable EORTC QLQ-C30 and EQ-5D questionnaires at baseline were 86.0% and 78.7% with DCF, respectively, and 89.7% and 92.8% with CF, respectively. Time to 5% deterioration of global health status (primary end point) significantly favored DCF over CF (log-rank test, P = .01). QOL was preserved longer for patients on DCF than those on CF for all time to deterioration analyses, demonstrating the statistical superiority of DCF compared with CF.


CONCLUSIONS
V325 represents the largest trial with the longest prospectively controlled evaluations of QOL during protocol chemotherapy and follow-up in patients with advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction cancer. In V325, advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction cancer patients receiving DCF not only had statistically improved overall survival and time to tumor-progression, but they also had better preservation of QOL compared with patients receiving CF.
Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA. jajani@mdanderson.org
Jaffer A
JA
Ajani
Vladimir M
VM
Moiseyenko
Sergei
S
Tjulandin
Alejandro
A
Majlis
Manuel
M
Constenla
Corrado
C
Boni
Adriano
A
Rodrigues
Miguel
M
Fodor
Yee
Y
Chao
Edouard
E
Voznyi
Lucile
L
Awad
Eric
E
Van Cutsem
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002945:Cisplatin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D000077143:Docetaxel; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000008:administration & dosage; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D016019:Survival Analysis; D043823:Taxoids / Q000008:administration & dosage; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D043823:Taxoids; D000077143:Docetaxel; D002945:Cisplatin; D005472:Fluorouracil