Korean J Med.  2007 Jun;72(6):577-579.

Combination chemotherapy with docetaxel and cisplatin as first-line treatment in advanced gastric cancer: is it a new effective chemotherapy?

• Shin DB

Abstract

Advanced gastric carcinoma is associated with a poor prognosis. Although a number of combination chemotherapy regimens , usually based on 5FU and cisplatin, have been tested in randomized studies, there is no globally accepted standard therapy. Docetaxel is active against advanced gastric carcinoma and some investigators report a response rate ranging from 18% to 24% with a single-agent docetaxel. Kim et al performed a phase II trial with docetaxel plus cisplatin(DC) in patients with untreated advanced gastric cancer, which resulted in a response rate(per protocol population) of 42.4% but a response rate for the intent-to-treatment analysis is only 33.3%. Granulocytopenia worse than grade 3 occurred only in 7.6% in spite of older patients being included. Non-hematologic toxicities were negligible. The lower rate of hematologic and non-hematologic toxicities over a number of other studies is considered as clinically irrelevant. I would like to remind Dr Kim coutiously that he has to adress these discrepancies.

Keyword

Advanced gastric cancer; Docetaxel; Cisplatin

MeSH Terms

Agranulocytosis
Cisplatin*
Drug Therapy*
Drug Therapy, Combination*
Fluorouracil
Humans
Prognosis
Research Personnel
Stomach Neoplasms*
Cisplatin
Fluorouracil