Phase II study of weekly paclitaxel and capecitabine in patients with metastatic or recurrent esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND: This phase II study assessed the response rate and toxicity profile of weekly paclitaxel and capecitabine in patients with metastatic or recurrent squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus (SCCE) METHODS: Patients with histologically confirmed SCCE were treated with paclitaxel 80 mg/m(2 )intravenously on days 1 and 8 plus capecitabine 900 mg/m(2 )orally twice a day on days 1-14. Treatment cycles were repeated every 3 weeks until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. RESULTS: Between 2006 and 2009, 32 patients were enrolled. Twelve patients were chemotherapy-naïve. Twenty patients had received prior chemotherapy including platinum-based regimens. Patients received a median of 5 cycles of treatment (range, 1-12). The response rate was 75% (95%CI; 50.5~99.5%) in the first-line and 45% (95%CI; 26.9~73.1%) in the second-line. With a median follow-up of 20.7 months, median progression-free survival was 5.2 months (95% CI, 4.0 to 6.4) for all patients and median overall survival (OS) was 11.7 months (95% CI, 5.5 to 18.0) for all patients. The median OS was 14.3 months (95% CI, 10.6 to 18.0) for patients receiving therapy as 1(st )line and 8.4 months (95% CI, 6.6 to 10.1) for those receiving as 2(nd)-line therapy. Grade 3/4 neutropenia was observed in 53.3% of the patients, which was the most common cause of dose reduction. G3 non-hematologic toxicity included stomatitis (9.4%), asthenia (6.3%), and hand-foot skin reaction (3.1%). CONCLUSIONS: Weekly paclitaxel and capecitabine is a highly active and well-tolerated regimen in patients with metastatic or recurrent SCCE in the first-line as well as second-line setting.