title: A phase II study of weekly paclitaxel and doxifluridine combination chemotherapy for advanced/recurrent gastric cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Paclitaxel and doxifluridine (5'-DFUR) have distinct mechanisms of action and toxicity profiles. This study evaluated the antitumor activity and toxicities of combination chemotherapy with these drugs in patients with advanced/recurrent gastric cancer (AGC).
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients with histologically confirmed AGC, which was either unresectable or metastatic, were included in this study. The treatment consisted of 80 mg/m² paclitaxel given i.v. on days 1, 8, and 15 every 4 weeks, and 533 mg/m² doxifluridine given orally on days 1-5 every week.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One hundred and four patients were evaluated for toxicity and 93 patients were evaluated for a therapeutic response. The overall response rate was 33.3% (1st line: 41.7%, 2nd line: 25.0%), including a complete remission in two patients, a partial remission in 29, stable disease in 39, progressive disease in 17; the response was not evaluable in six patients. The median overall survival was 287 days. Commonly observed grade 3/4 adverse events were leukopenia (13.5%), anorexia (3.8%), fatigue (3.8%) and diarrhea (2.9%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Paclitaxel and doxifluridine combination chemotherapy is a well-tolerated and convenient treatment regimen that can be given on an outpatient basis with promising efficacy for AGC.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Surgery, Gunma University, Faculty of Medicine, Maebashi, Gunma 371-8511, Japan. takeyosi@showa.gunma-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Izumi
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Takeyoshi
authors.forename: Fujio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Makita
authors.forename: Yoshifumi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tanahashi
authors.forename: Shigeru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Iwazaki
authors.forename: Tetsushi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ogawa
authors.forename: Naoki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tomizawa
authors.forename: Seiji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Hitoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
authors.forename: Toshihiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ohya
authors.forename: Shinichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kakinuma
authors.forename: Katsunao
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakagami
authors.forename: Yoshihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Koyano
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Roppongi
authors.forename: Masaru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Izumi
authors.forename: Junya
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Susumu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kawate
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sunose
authors.forename: Mitsunobu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Tatsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: Ichiro
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sakamoto
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D005260:Female; D005467:Floxuridine / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D017239:Paclitaxel / Q000008:administration & dosage; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D005467:Floxuridine; D017239:Paclitaxel; C025034:doxifluridine