A case report of unresectable gastric cancer that responded to 5-FU plus paclitaxel (FT) therapy

• Published in: Gan to kagaku ryoho Vol. 31; no. 6; p. 939
• Main Authors: Matsui, Takanori, Kojima, Hiroshi, Kato, Junji, Uemura, Takanori, Kojima, Taiki, Fujimitsu, Yasunobu, Tanehiro, Kenji, Inagaki, Hitoshi, Sakamoto, Junichi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: Japan 01-06-2004
• Subjects: Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols - therapeutic use; Ascites - drug therapy; Drug Administration Schedule; Fluorouracil - administration & dosage; Humans; Jaundice, Obstructive - complications; Male; Middle Aged; Paclitaxel - administration & dosage; Stomach Neoplasms - drug therapy
• ISSN: 0385-0684

We report a case of a 63-year-old man who has been treated by FT therapy (5-fluorouracil (5-FU) plus paclitaxel therapy). The regimen includes 600 mg/m2/day of 5-FU by continuous i.v. administration from day 1 to 5 and consequent administration of paclitaxel (90 mg/m2/day) on days 8, 15, and 22 for 28 days repetitively. Before the therapy was started, that occurred were obstructive jaundice, ascites, and poor performance status due to gastric cancer were observed. After percutaneous transhepatic drainage was performed, the patient was started on the above-mentioned regimen even before full recovery from the hepatic dysfunction. As the treatment proceeded, he showed good response (ascites disappeared and the size of swollen perigastric lymph node was reduced, which were confirmed as a partial response by sequential CT examination) to the therapy and his QOL and PS also improved. He has continued to receive this regimen for over 1 year and 4 months without any sign of progressive disease by CT examination. No adverse event greater than grade 1 by the NCI-CTC criteria was seen, except for alopecia (grade 2). Considering the favorable response and mild toxicity, this regimen is useful even for the patients with poor performance status and severe hepatic dysfunction.