Efficacy and toxicity of the combination regimen "docetaxel + cisplatin + leucovorin + 5-fluorouracil" in disseminated gastric cancer

Abstract

The aim of our study was to investigate the efficacy and toxicity of the combination regimen of “docetaxel 75 mg/m2, cisplatin 75 mg/m2 on day 2, leucovorin 50 mg intravenously by jet stream, 5-fluorouracil 500 mg/m2 on days 1–3” as first-line chemotherapy for disseminated gastric cancer. The study included 42 patients. Partial regression was observed in 34.1%, disease stabilization in 36.6%, and disease progression in 29.3%. The median progression-free survival was 5.4 months, overall survival was 11.7 months, 1-year survival was 42.8%, 2-year survival was 14.3%, and 3-year survival was 9.5%. In 2 patients, complete resorption of distant metastases was observed during treatment, which allowed them to undergo radical surgery and significantly increase life expectancy - up to 43 months and 53 months. The toxicity of the regimen was moderate. Neutropenia of grade 3–4 was observed in 59.5% of patients and was accompanied by febrile fever only in 1 patient. Non-hematological toxicity of grade 3 was noted in 5 patients (11.9%): in the form of diarrhea – in 7.2%, stomatitis – in 2.4%, asthenia – in 2.4% of patients. This regimen demonstrated comparable efficacy to the DCF regimen in the V-325 study, but a more favorable toxicity profile, allowing chemotherapy to be administered more frequently on an outpatient basis.