Paclitaxel combined with 5- Fluorouracil continuous infusion for treatment of advanced gastric cancer

Objective To observe the efficacy and toxicity of paclitaxel combined with leucovorin/5- fluorouracil continuous infusion in patients with advanced gastric cancer. Methods 26 patients with a histologic diagnosis of advanced gastric cancer were observed. The chemotherapy regimen comprised of PTX 135 mg/m2 infusion for 3 hours, LV 200 mg/m2 infusion for 2 hours followed by 10 minutes intravenous infusion of 5- Fu 375 mg/m2, then 120 hours infusion of 5- Fu 3.0 g/m2 with an ambulatory pump, repeated every 3 weeks. All patients were received at least two cycles of treatment. Results All the cases could be evaluated. The total response rate was 46.2 %. Two obtained complete remission (CR) (7.7 %). The major toxic side effects were neutropenia, nausea, vomiting, mucositis, alopecia, arthralgia, myalgia and cardiac toxic reaction, but were tolerable. Conclusions The combination of paclitaxel and 5- Fu continuous infusion is an effective and tolerable regimen in the treatment of gastric cancer.