Paclitaxel combined with oxaliplatin as first-line chemotherapy for locally advanced or metastatic gastric cancer.

PURPOSE: This retrospective study was designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Paclitaxel (PTX) combined with Oxaliplatin (OXA) as first-line chemotherapy for locally advanced or metastatic gastric cancer (AGC). METHODS: Untreated patients with histologically confirmed AGC who received PTX at 135 mg/m(2) and OXA at 85 mg/m(2) every 2 weeks were studied. Antitumor activity was assessed by imaging and toxicities were evaluated. RESULTS: Thirty-nine (39) patients were enrolled. With 9.83 months median time of follow-up, 1 year OS rate was 42.0%. Complete response, partial response, stable disease and progressive disease was 2.6, 66.7, 17.9 and 12.0% respectively, the overall response rate was 69.2%. The mPFS was 8.5 months and the mOS 14.4 months. Grade 3/4 of toxicities included neutropenia (38.5%), febrile neutropenia (20.5%), vomiting (7.7%) and hypertransaminasemia (7.7%). Grade 2 peripheral neuropathy occurred in 33.3% patients. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of PTX combined with OXA is an active and safe regime for AGC and has a high overall response rate.