title: Older versus younger patients with metastatic adenocarcinoma of the esophagus, gastroesophageal junction, and stomach: a pooled analysis of eight consecutive North Central Cancer Treatment Group (NCCTG) trials.
abstract: Whether elderly patients with metastatic esophageal, gastroesophageal, and gastric cancer do as well with chemotherapy as their younger counterparts was investigated in this pooled analysis. In total, 367 patients from 8 consecutive, first-line trials were included: i) etoposide + cisplatin; ii) 5-fluorourucil + leucovorin; iii) 5-fluorouracil + levamisole; iv) irinotecan; v) docetaxel + irinotecan; vi) oxaliplatin + capecitabine; vii) docetaxel + capecitabine; and viii) bortezomib + paclitaxel + carboplatin. One hundred and fifty-four (42%) patients were > or =65 years old (range: 65-86), and 213 younger (range: 20-64). Elderly patients had worse performance scores (2-3): 19 vs. 8% (p<0.0001). Rates of grade 3+ adverse events across all chemotherapy cycles in univariate and multivariate analyses (adjusted for gender, performance score, and stratified by individual study) were higher among elderly patients. Rates of neutropenia, fatigue, infection, and stomatitis in elderly vs. younger patients were 31 vs. 29% (p=0.02 by multivariate analyses); 15 vs. 5% (p=0.01); 9 vs. 4% (p=0.03); 6 vs. 1% (p=0.04). In contrast, duration of chemotherapy, overall survival, and progression-free survival were comparable. Although age should not preclude trial entry, these adverse event rates suggest a need to develop more tolerable regimens for older patients with these malignancies.
authors.affiliation: Mayo Clinic Rochester, Rochester, MN 55905, USA. jatoi.aminah@mayo.edu
authors.forename: Aminah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jatoi
authors.forename: Nathan R
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Foster
authors.forename: James R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Egner
authors.forename: Patrick A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Burch
authors.forename: Philip J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Stella
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rubin
authors.forename: Shaker R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Dakhil
authors.forename: Daniel J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Sargent
authors.forename: Brian R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.forename: Steven R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Alberts
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D004943:Esophagogastric Junction / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009657:North Carolina; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome