Abstract:

Objective To analyze the efficacy and safety of capecitabine maintenance treatment in patients with advanced gastric cancer after successful chemotherapy through the first-line XELOX program（oxaliplatin and capecitabine）. Methods Patients with advanced gastric cancer（n=84）who completed first-line XELOX chemotherapy were randomly divided into a control group（n=42）that received no further treatment or a maintenance group（n=42）that received capecitabine chemotherapy until disease progression or intolerable toxicity. Results Progression-free survival was 9.6 months in the maintenance group，significantly longer than the 6.8 months in the control group（P<0.05）. Similarly，overall survival was 13.5 months in the maintenance group，significantly longer than the 11.6 months in the control group（P<0.05）. The main adverse reactions were hematologic toxicity，gastrointestinal reaction，hand-foot syndrome，oral mucositis，and peripheral neurotoxicity. All these reactions improved after symptomatic treatment. No treatment-related deaths occurred. Conclusion Capecitabine maintenance treatment can prolong progression-free survival and overall survival in patients with advanced gastric cancer who have undergone the first-line XELOX program. Toxic effects of such treatment are well tolerated. 

Key words: Stomach neoplasms, Advanced gastric cancer, Oxaliplatin, Capecitabine, Maintenance, Efficacy, Adverse reaction