title: Oxaliplatin, 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin (FOLFOX-4) combination chemotherapy as a salvage treatment in advanced gastric cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study was designed to determine the efficacy and safety of FOLFOX-4 chemotherapy as a salvage treatment for patients with advanced gastric cancer (AGC).
  
  
  METHODS
  The AGC patients with an ECOG performance status of 0~1 and progressive disease after prior treatments were registered onto this phase II trial. The patients received oxaliplatin (85 mg/m² on day 1), leucovorin (200 mg/m² on days 1 and 2) and 5-fluorouracil (400 mg/m² as a bolus and 600 mg/m² as a 22-hour infusion on days 1 and 2) every 2 weeks.
  
  
  RESULTS
  For the 42 treated patients, a total of 228 chemotherapy cycles (median: 5, range: 1~12) were administered. Twenty-nine patients (69%) received FOLFOX-4 chemotherapy as a third-(50%) or fourth-line (19%) treatment. On the intent-to-treat analysis, 9 patients (21%) achieved a partial response, which was maintained for 4.6 months. The median progression-free survival and overall survival were 3.0 months and 6.2 months, respectively. The frequently encountered toxicities were neutropenia and gastrointestinal side effects, including anorexia. Although there was one possible treatment-related death, the toxicity profiles were generally predictable and manageable.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Salvage chemotherapy with FOLFOX-4 is an effective and tolerable regimen for those heavily pretreated AGC patients who have a good performance status.
authors.affiliation: Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Gachon University Gil Hospital, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Young Saing
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Junshik
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: Sun Jin
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Sym
authors.forename: Se Hoon
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Jinny
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Eun Kyung
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Jae Hoon
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Dong Bok
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Shin