Efficacy of Nab-Paclitaxel as Second-line Chemotherapy for Unresectable or Recurrent Gastric Cancer

Aim: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of nanoparticle albumin-bound-paclitaxel (nab-PTX) as second-line chemotherapy (CT) for patients with unresectable or recurrent gastric cancer (GC).

Patients and methods: The clinicopathological and survival data of 37 patients with unresectable or recurrent GC who underwent nab-PTX monotherapy as second-line CT, were retrospectively analyzed.

Results: The median number of cycles and relative dose intensity administered per patient were 5 and 90%, respectively. Their overall response rate was 24.3% and the disease control rate was 59.5%. Median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival were 4.8 months and 10.4 months, respectively. Thirteen patients had grade 3 or 4 toxicities and were managed. In multivariate Cox regression analysis, cycles of chemotherapy ≥5 (odds ratio, 0.20; 95% confidence interval, 0.08-0.50; p<0.01) was the only significant independent predictor of longer PFS.

Conclusion: Nab-PTX may effectively prevent disease progression as second-line CT by increasing treatment cycles and managing adverse effects.