Background & objective: In vitro clinical research showed oxaliplatin (L-OHP) could obviously suppress the growth of gastric cancer cells in combination with most anti-cancer drugs and help these drugs to kill the tumor cells. This study was designed to evaluate the response and tolerance of oxaliplatin,leucovorin (LV), 5-fluorouracil (5-FU),and etoposide (VP-16) as first-line regimen in advanced gastric cancer, and compare with traditional chemotherapy regimen.
Methods: Forty-eight patients with advanced gastric cancer were divided into treatment group (L-OHP+LV+5-FU+VP-16) and control group(DDP+LV+5-FU+VP-16) using non-randomized method. L-OHP:135 mg/m(2), iv infusion 2 hours, d1(or DDP 20 mg, iv infusion, d1-5); LV:200 mg,iv infusion,d1-5; 5-FU:500 mg/m(2) CI 6 hours on d1-5; VP-16: 100 mg, iv infusion d1-5. Every course lasted 3-4 weeks.
Results: The response rate was 64% (16/25) in treatment group (25 cases) and 34.8% (8/23) in control group (23 cases). The statistic difference was seen in two groups (P< 0.05, Chi-square test). The median survival and 1-year survival rate were 11.5 months and 45.6% for treatment group versus 10.5 months and 36.5% for control group. There was no statistical difference in two groups for overall survival (P >0.05, log-rank test). The main side effects were sensory neuritis in treatment group and nausea vomiting in control group. There were significant statistically differences in two groups (P< 0.05, Wilcoxon rank sum test). The other side effects were similar.
Conclusion: L-OHP + VP-16 + LV + 5-FU regimen is effective and well tolerable for advanced gastric carcinoma.