Efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy with docetaxel, cisplatin and S-1 for resectable locally advanced gastric cancer.

BACKGROUND: The prognosis for locally advanced gastric cancer (AGC) remains unsatisfactory, even with S-1 adjuvant chemotherapy. We investigated the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy consisting of docetaxel, cisplatin and S-1 (DCS). METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 59 patients who underwent neoadjuvant DCS therapy for clinical stage III tumors or serosa-positive tumors between January 2009 and December 2013 at Niigata Cancer Center Hospital. The patients received S-1 (40 mg/m(2) bid) on days 1-14, and docetaxel (35 mg/m(2)) and cisplatin (35 mg/m(2)) on days 1 and 15 every 4 weeks. RESULTS: Forty-three patients (72.9 %) received two courses of DCS therapy, while 16 patients (27.1 %) received one course of treatment. The clinical response rate of the primary tumor was 74.6 %, and the disease control rate was 100 %. A pathological response, defined as one-third or more of the affected tumor, was observed in 71.2 % of patients. The common grade 3/4 adverse events from chemotherapy were leucopenia (16.9 %), neutropenia (44.1 %), febrile neutropenia (8.5 %), anemia (10.2 %), anorexia (8.5 %) and nausea (6.8 %). Postoperative complications occurred in 11 patients (18.6 %). There was no treatment-related mortality or reoperation. The 3- and 5-year overall survival rates were 88 and 68.6 %, respectively. Clinical responders had a significantly higher survival rate than non-responders. Multivariate analysis identified clinical response as the only independent prognostic factor. CONCLUSIONS: Neoadjuvant DCS therapy demonstrated a very high clinical and pathological response rate with acceptable toxicities. Therefore, this therapy may improve the prognosis of locally AGC.