Purpose: 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.
Materials and 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.
Conclusion: The modified FOLFOX-6 regimen is effective and well tolerated as a first-line chemotherapy regimen for patients with advanced gastric cancer.
Keywords: Adjuvant chemotherapy; FOLFOX regimen; Oxaliplatin; Stomach neoplasms.