Second-Line Chemotherapy Improves Survival in Patients with Advanced Gastric Cancer

Overall survival improved significantly when second-line therapy was added to best supportive care.

First-line combination chemotherapy is only moderately effective for metastatic gastric cancer; overall survival (OS) for patients with this disease is <1 year. Can second-line chemotherapy prolong survival in these patients?

To find out, investigators in South Korea conducted a multicenter, phase III, randomized trial involving 202 gastric cancer patients with performance status 0 or 1 who experienced disease progression after first-line 5-fluorouracil or platinum-based chemotherapy. The most common prior therapies were a fluorinated pyrimidine plus cisplatin (68%) or oxaliplatin-based regimens (26%). Patients were assigned 2:1 to best supportive care (BSC) or BSC plus chemotherapy with either docetaxel (60 mg/m² every 3 weeks) or irinoteca…

Reviewing Author

David H. Ilson, MD, PhD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardAstraZeneca; Merck; Taiho; Astellas; Bristol Myers Squibb; Regeneron; Oncolys; Amgen; Daiichi Sankyo

David H. Ilson, MD, PhD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardAstraZeneca; Merck; Taiho; Astellas; Bristol Myers Squibb; Regeneron; Oncolys; Amgen; Daiichi Sankyo