title: Oxaliplatin, 5-FU, folinic acid as first-line palliative chemotherapy in elderly patients with metastatic or recurrent gastric cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We investigated the efficacy and safety of a combination of oxaliplatin, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), and folinic acid (FA) as first-line palliative chemotherapy for elderly patients with metastatic or recurrent gastric cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study patients were chemotherapy-naïve patients (> 65 years old) with histologically confirmed, metastatic or recurrent gastric cancer. Chemotherapy consisted of oxaliplatin 100 mg/m(2) and FA 100 mg/m(2) (2-hour infusion), and then 5-FU 2400 mg/m(2) (46-hour continuous infusion) every 2 weeks.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 37 patients were studied between April 2004 and October 2006. Of the 34 evaluable patients, none achieved a complete response (CR) and 14 achieved a partial response (PR), resulting in an overall response rate of 41.2%. The median time to progression (TTP) was 5.7 months (95% CI: 4.2~6.3 months) and the median overall survival (OS) was 9.8 months (95% CI: 4.4~12.0 months). The main hematologic toxicities were anemia and neutropenia, which were observed in 56.7% and 32.4% of the patients, respectively. Grade 3/4 neutropenia was observed in 8.1% of the patients. None of the patients experienced febrile neutropenia. Peripheral neuropathy occurred in 35.1% of the patients and all were grade 1/2.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This oxaliplatin/5-FU/FA regimen showed good efficacy and an acceptable toxicity profile in elderly patients with metastatic or recurrent gastric cancer.
authors.affiliation: Cancer Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: In Sil
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Do-Youn
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.forename: Byoung-Su
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Keun-Wook
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Jee Hyun
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jong-Seok
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Lee