Outcomes of modified FOLFOX-6 as first line treatment in patients with advanced gastric cancer in a single institution; retrospective analysis.
OBJECTIVE
Treatment options for patients with advanced gastric cancer remain limited. Few studies have investigated the efficacy and tolerability of the combination regimen of oxaliplatin and 5-fluorouracil with leucovorin for patients with advanced gastric cancer. The goal of this study was to examine the efficacy and toxicity of a modified FOLFOX-6 (mFOLFOX-6) regimen as a first-line chemotherapy regimen for patients with advanced gastric cancer.


METHODS
From March, 2006, to December, 2007, 82 patients with advanced gastric cancer received 100 mg/m² oxaliplatin and 100 mg/m² leucovorin on the first day of treatment, followed by 2,400 mg/m² of 5-fluorouracil on the first and second days of treatment every 2 weeks as a first-line treatment.


RESULTS
The median age of the enrolled patients was 62 years (range; 30~75). Out of 82 patients, 34 cases (41.5%) were recurrent cases after curative resection, and the other 48 cases were unresectable or non-curative resectable cases. Their response was evaluated every 6 weeks. The overall response rate was 40.2%, with 2 (2.4%) complete response and 31 (37.8%) partial responses. The median time to progression (TTP) and overall survival (OS) time were 6.0 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 4.69~7.31) and 13.0 months (7.99~18.0), respectively. The grade 3~4 hematologic toxicities observed included neutropenia (34.1%), thrombocytopenia (7.3%), and anemia (1.2%). The gastrointestinal toxicities observed included grade 3~4 nausea (9.8%) and vomiting (7.3%). Six patients (7.3%) experienced grade 3 neuropathy. No treatment-related deaths were recorded.


CONCLUSIONS
The modified FOLFOX-6 regimen is effective and well tolerated as a first-line chemotherapy regimen for patients with advanced gastric cancer.
Lee
Han Hong
HH
Department of Surgery, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Hur
Hoon
H
Kim
Soo Hong
SH
Park
Ae Ryung
AR
Kim
Wook
W
Jeon
Hae Myung
HM