First-line single-agent chemotherapy for patients with recurrent or metastatic gastric cancer with poor performance status

Combination chemotherapy is a standard treatment approach in advanced gastric cancer. However, combination chemotherapy for advanced gastric cancer is often associated with severe treatment-related toxicities and most oncologists are reluctant to perform combination chemotherapy in patients with a poor clinical condition. We retrospectively investigated the efficacy and tolerability of single-agent chemotherapy in patients with recurrent or metastatic gastric cancer with poor performance status (PS). We reviewed advanced gastric adenocarcinoma patients who received first-line single-agent palliative chemotherapy due to poor PS between June 2006 and December 2010. A total of 125 patients with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) PS 2–3, whose general condition did not allow combination chemotherapy, were enrolled. Four single agents were used: TS-1 (n=63), paclitaxel (n=42), irinotecan (n=15) and capecitabine (n=5). The median age was 66 years, with a range of 25–81 years. The percent response rate and rate of stable disease (SD) were 19.2 and 35.2%, respectively, giving a disease control rate of 54.4%. The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 3.9 months (95% CI, 2.73–5.06). The median overall survival (OS) was 9.1 months (95% CI, 7.70–10.56) with a 1-year survival rate of 31.2%. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that the independent prognostic factors for OS were chemotherapy regimen (capecitabine) [reference: TS-1, hazard ratio (HR), 5.00; 95% CI, 1.81–13.81; P=0.002], no second-line chemotherapy (HR, 2.3; 95% CI, 1.48–3.57; P=0.001), bone metastasis (HR, 2.73; 95% CI, 1.22–6.09; P=0.014), ECOG PS 3 (HR, 38.10; 95% CI, 13.72–105.78; P=0.001), Glasgow prognostic score (GPS) ≥1 (HR, 1.88; 95% CI, 1.24–2.85; P=0.003) and chemotherapy response [SD + progressive disease (PD) + not evaluable (NE); HR, 2.37; 95% CI, 1.39–4.05; P=0.002)]. First-line single-agent palliative chemotherapy demonstrated a relatively good clinical efficacy for recurrent or metastatic gastric cancer patients with poor PS.