Cancer Res Treat.  2007 Sep;39(3):99-103.

Oxaliplatin, 5-FU, Folinic Acid as First-line Palliative Chemotherapy in Elderly Patients with Metastatic or Recurrent Gastric Cancer

• Choi IS
• Oh DY
• Kim BS
• Lee KW
• Kim JH
• Lee JS

Abstract

PURPOSE: We investigated the efficacy and safety of a combination of oxaliplatin, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), and folinic acid (FA) as first-line palliative chemotherapy for elderly patients with metastatic or recurrent gastric cancer.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The study patients were chemotherapy-naive patients (> 65 years old) with histologically confirmed, metastatic or recurrent gastric cancer. Chemotherapy consisted of oxaliplatin 100 mg/m2 and FA 100 mg/m2 (2-hour infusion), and then 5-FU 2400 mg/m2 (46-hour continuous infusion) every 2 weeks.
RESULTS
A total of 37 patients were studied between April 2004 and October 2006. Of the 34 evaluable patients, none achieved a complete response (CR) and 14 achieved a partial response (PR), resulting in an overall response rate of 41.2%. The median time to progression (TTP) was 5.7 months (95% CI: 4.2~6.3 months) and the median overall survival (OS) was 9.8 months (95% CI: 4.4~12.0 months). The main hematologic toxicities were anemia and neutropenia, which were observed in 56.7% and 32.4% of the patients, respectively. Grade 3/4 neutropenia was observed in 8.1% of the patients. None of the patients experienced febrile neutropenia. Peripheral neuropathy occurred in 35.1% of the patients and all were grade 1/2.
CONCLUSION
This oxaliplatin/5-FU/FA regimen showed good efficacy and an acceptable toxicity profile in elderly patients with metastatic or recurrent gastric cancer.

Keyword

Stomach neoplasms; Elderly; Chemotherapy; Oxaliplatin

MeSH Terms

Aged*
Anemia
Drug Therapy*
Febrile Neutropenia
Fluorouracil*
Humans
Leucovorin*
Neutropenia
Peripheral Nervous System Diseases
Stomach Neoplasms*
Fluorouracil
Leucovorin

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Time to progression curve.

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  Fig. 2 Overall survival curve.

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