Efficacy and safety of combination chemotherapy with docetaxel and cisplatin as a first-line treatment for advanced gastric cancer

Kim, Gyung Jung; Lee, Sehe Dong; Park, Jong Won; Sin, Cheol Ho; Hwang, Seung Jae; Nam, Seung Hyun; Kim, Bong Seog

Abstract

BACKGROUDN: To evaluate the activity and safety of docetaxel and cisplatin for advanced gastric cancer as a first-line chemotherapy treatment.
METHODS
Between December 2001 and February 2006, forty-two patients with recurrent or metastatic gastric cancer were enrolled. Docetaxel (75 mg/m2) was administered as a 1-hour intravenous infusion on day 1 and cisplatin (60 mg/m2) was also administered as a 30-minute intravenous infusion on day 1 every three weeks until disease progression or severe toxicity was detected. The response was assessed every 2 cycles. The toxicities were evaluated for every course of chemotherapy according to NCI toxicity criteria.
RESULTS
The median age of the patients was 66 (range, 33~77) years. Among the forty-two patients, 38 were male. Twenty-seven patients had an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance score of 0 or 1 and fifteen patients had a score of 2. All patients had adenocarcinoma. Thirty-three of the forty-two patients were assessable for response. Partial responses were observed in 14 patients. The overall response rate was 42.4% (95% C.I., 25.259.6%) and the median response duration was 5.7 (range, 1.4~17.2) months. The median overall survival of all patients was 8.1 (range, 1.2~47.0) months. During a total of 170 cycles, granulocytopenia worse than National Cancer Institute toxicity grade 3 occurred in 7.6% of the patients, thrombocytopenia in 0.6% and anemia in 3.5%, respectively. No deaths resulting from toxicity were observed. Non-hematologic toxicities were minor and were easily controlled.
CONCLUSION
Combination chemotherapy with docetaxel and cisplatin has a tolerable efficacy with acceptable toxicities in patients with advanced gastric cancer as a first-line treatment.