Background: The efficacy of triple-drug combination regimens such as epirubicin, oxaliplatin and capecitabine (EOX) is superior to standard cisplatin/5-fluorouracil, but considerable toxicity needs to be taken into account in patients with upper gastrointestinal adenocarcinoma. Therefore, we aimed to establish a modified version of the EOX regimen with improved tolerability for these patients.
Patients and methods: Patients received palliative first-line chemotherapy with a modified EOX regimen repeated every three weeks (epirubicin 50 mg/m(2) i.v., day 1; oxaliplatin 130 mg/m(2) i.v., day 1; capecitabine at a twice-daily dose of 1000 mg/m(2) p.o. for two weeks).
Results: Out of 51 patients, partial remission was observed in five (10.2%) and stable disease in 31 (60.8%). Progression-free survival was four months, and overall survival twelve months.
Conclusion: Modified EOX was generally well-tolerated and, therefore, further investigation within prospective clinical trials is warranted.