Docetaxel Plus Oxaliplatin with 5-Fluorouracil May Be Effective for Advanced Gastric Cancer

the Cancer Therapy Advisor take:

According to a new study published in the journal Annals of Oncology, researchers have found that the combination of docetaxel, oxaliplatin, and 5-fluorouracil (TEF) may be effective alone or as a backbone regimen for newly developed targeted agents for the treatment of patients with advanced gastric cancer.

For this phase 2 study, researchers sought to evaluate docetaxel/oxaliplatin (TE), docetaxel/oxaliplatin/capecitabine (TEX), and TEF in patients with metastatic or locally recurrent gastric adenocarcinoma. Researchers randomly assigned 248 patients with advanced gastric cancer 1:1:1 to TE, TEF, or TEX.

Results showed a median progression survival of 7.66 months (95% CI: 6.97 - 9.40) for TEF, 4.50 months (95% CI: 3.68 - 5.32) for TE, and 5.55 months (95% CI: 4.30 - 6.37) for TEX. Median overall survival was 14.59 months (95% CI: 11.70 - 21.78) for TEF, 8.97 months (95% CI: 7.79 - 10.87) for TE, and 11.30 months (95% CI: 8.08 - 14.03) for TEX.

Tumor response rate for TEF was nearly double that of TE and TEX. Adverse effects were similar across all arms. The researchers suggest that TEF should be studied in phase 3 trials for patients with advanced gastric cancer alone or with targeted therapy.