Modified 5-fluorouracil/leucovorin/irinotecan as a feasible and efficacious second-line chemotherapeutic regimen in advanced gastric cancers

BACKGROUND: Modified 5-fluorouracil/leucovorin/irinotecan (mFOLFIRI) is a commonly used combination second-line chemotherapeutic regimen in advanced gastric cancer (AGC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients diagnosed with AGC, receiving biweekly mFOLFIRI between July 2013 and June 2016, as second-line chemotherapy were retrospectively analyzed for tolerance, prognostic factors, event-free survival (EFS), and overall survival (OS). RESULTS: Overall, 91 patients were administered a median of 6 cycles of therapy. Response rate was 29.7% and clinical benefit rate was 57.2%. With a median follow-up of 11.5 months, median EFS was 3.98 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.54–5.41) and median OS was 7.73 months (95% CI: 5.30–10.15). Common Grade 3 and Grade 4 adverse events were neutropenia (18.7%), febrile neutropenia (9.9%), thrombocytopenia (7.7%), and vomiting (4.4%). Nearly 33% of patients required dose modification during therapy. CONCLUSIONS: mFOLFIRI regimen as a second-line therapy in AGCs appears feasible and efficacious in clinical practice.