No survival benefit from postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy after D2 radical resection for the patients with stage II gastric cancer.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the effect of 2 regimens of postoperative combination chemotherapies on the prognosis of early stage gastric cancer patients.


METHODS
A total of 268 patients with stage II gastric cancer underwent D2 resection in our Cancer Center between January 1990 and December 2006 were recruited. Among them, 34 patients received the FAM regimen (5-fluorouracil [5-FU] 600 mg/m(2) intravenous [IV] drip on days 1, 8, 29, and 36; doxorubicin 30 mg/m(2) IV bolus injection on days 1 and 29; and mitomycin-C 10 mg/m(2) IV bolus injection on day 1; repeated every 8 weeks) and 81 patients received the FOLFOX regimen (oxaliplatin 100 mg/m(2) IV drip on days 1 and 15; leucovorin 400 mg/m(2) IV drip on days 1 and 15; 5-FU 400 mg/m(2) IV bolus injection; 5-FU 2.4/3.0 mg/m(2) continuous IV infusion for 48 hours on day 1, 2, 15, and 16; repeated every 4 weeks for at least 4 cycles). Patients were followed-up until December 2008. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to compare survival rates between treatment groups.


RESULTS
The 1-, 3-, 5-, and 10-year survival rates for the patients who received postoperative chemotherapy versus the patients who underwent surgery only were 98%, 84%, 58%, 18% versus 96%, 78%, 59%, 22%, respectively (P > 0.05). Furthermore, the survival rates for patients who received the FAM and FOLFOX regimens were not significantly different (P > 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy did not produce survival benefits for the patients with stage II gastric cancer. Randomized controlled clinical trials are demanded to confirm the finding from this study.
Chen
Shi
S
State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, Guangdong, People's Republic of China.
Chen
Ying-Bo
YB
Zhou
Zhi-Wei
ZW
Li
Wei
W
Sun
Xiao-Wei
XW
Xu
Da-Zhi
DZ
Li
Yuan-Fang
YF
Guan
Yuan-Xiang
YX
Feng
Xing-Yu
XY
Zhan
You-Qing
YQ
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D004317:Doxorubicin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005743:Gastrectomy / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007262:Infusions, Intravenous; D007275:Injections, Intravenous; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D002955:Leucovorin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016685:Mitomycin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D009944:Organoplatinum Compounds / Q000008:administration & dosage; D018579:Patient Selection; D011184:Postoperative Period; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D017211:Treatment Failure
D009944:Organoplatinum Compounds; D016685:Mitomycin; D004317:Doxorubicin; D002955:Leucovorin; D005472:Fluorouracil