Paclitaxel combined with capecitabine as first-line chemotherapy for advanced or recurrent gastric cancer

Chemotherapy is of crucial importance in advanced gastric cancer (AGC) patients, in order to obtain palliation of symptoms and improve survival. To date, no standard chemotherapy regimen has been established for AGC. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of the combination regimen of paclitaxel and capecitabine (PX) as first-line chemotherapy in patients with advanced or recurrent gastric cancer. Patients with advanced or recurrent gastric cancer who were treated with PX as first-line chemotherapy between January 2001 and December 2012 at the Zhejiang Cancer Hospital (Hangzhou, China) were retrospectively investigated. Survival was evaluated using the Kaplan-Meier method. In total, 36 patients were enrolled, with a median age of 53.5 years and a Karnofsky performance status (KPS) score of ≥80. A median of 4 PX cycles were administered (range, 2-8 cycles). The median progression-free survival time was 3.7 months [95% confidence interval (CI), 2.9-4.5 months) and the median overall survival time was 12.0 months (95% CI, 9.8-14.1 months). From the 36 patients evaluated, one (2.8%) achieved a complete response, seven (19.4%) achieved a partial response, 24 (66.7%) exhibited stable disease and four (11.1%) exhibited progressive disease. The objective response rate was 22.2% (8/36), and the disease control rate was 88.9% (32/36). All 36 patients were assessed for treatment toxicity. Grade 3 or 4 adverse events included neutropenia (2.8% of patients), hand-foot syndrome (2.8%) and vomiting (2.8%). No neutropenic fever or treatment-related mortalities were observed. PX combination chemotherapy may be a valuable first-line therapy for advanced or recurrent gastric cancer.