Open AccessFirst-line single-agent chemotherapy for patients with recurrent or metastatic gastric cancer with poor performance status
Author(s) -
JunEul Hwang,
Hana Kim,
Dae Eun Kim,
Hyungbo Shim,
WooKyun Bae,
Eu Chang Hwang,
SangHee Cho,
IkJoo Chung
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
experimental and therapeutic medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1792-1015
pISSN - 1792-0981
DOI - 10.3892/etm.2012.644
Subject(s) - medicine , capecitabine , chemotherapy , performance status , tolerability , hazard ratio , oncology , cancer , regimen , chemotherapy regimen , irinotecan , gastroenterology , surgery , colorectal cancer , adverse effect , confidence interval
Combination chemotherapy is a standard treatment approach in advanced gastric cancer. However, combination chemotherapy for advanced gastric cancer is often associated with severe treatment-related toxicities and most oncologists are reluctant to perform combination chemotherapy in patients with a poor clinical condition. We retrospectively investigated the efficacy and tolerability of single-agent chemotherapy in patients with recurrent or metastatic gastric cancer with poor performance status (PS). We reviewed advanced gastric adenocarcinoma patients who received first-line single-agent palliative chemotherapy due to poor PS between June 2006 and December 2010. A total of 125 patients with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) PS 2-3, whose general condition did not allow combination chemotherapy, were enrolled. Four single agents were used: TS-1 (n=63), paclitaxel (n=42), irinotecan (n=15) and capecitabine (n=5). The median age was 66 years, with a range of 25-81 years. The percent response rate and rate of stable disease (SD) were 19.2 and 35.2%, respectively, giving a disease control rate of 54.4%. The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 3.9 months (95% CI, 2.73-5.06). The median overall survival (OS) was 9.1 months (95% CI, 7.70-10.56) with a 1-year survival rate of 31.2%. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that the independent prognostic factors for OS were chemotherapy regimen (capecitabine) [reference: TS-1, hazard ratio (HR), 5.00; 95% CI, 1.81-13.81; P=0.002], no second-line chemotherapy (HR, 2.3; 95% CI, 1.48-3.57; P=0.001), bone metastasis (HR, 2.73; 95% CI, 1.22-6.09; P=0.014), ECOG PS 3 (HR, 38.10; 95% CI, 13.72-105.78; P=0.001), Glasgow prognostic score (GPS) ≥1 (HR, 1.88; 95% CI, 1.24-2.85; P=0.003) and chemotherapy response [SD + progressive disease (PD) + not evaluable (NE); HR, 2.37; 95% CI, 1.39-4.05; P=0.002)]. First-line single-agent palliative chemotherapy demonstrated a relatively good clinical efficacy for recurrent or metastatic gastric cancer patients with poor PS.