Oxaliplatin- versus cisplatin-based regimens for elderly individuals with advanced gastric cancer: a retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND: Whether an oxaliplatin- or cisplatin-based regimen is more optimal for treating elderly patients with advanced gastric cancer, in terms of survival and adverse events remains unclear. METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study, we used stacked claim data of residents in two Japanese prefectures collected between 2012 and 2017 and between 2014 and 2019, respectively. We included patients with advanced gastric cancer who received oxaliplatin-based and cisplatin-based regimens. Propensity score overlap weighting analysis was conducted to compare overall survival and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor use during chemotherapy between the oxaliplatin- and cisplatin-based treatment groups. RESULTS: A total of 242 patients were included in the study. After propensity score weighting, Kaplan–Meier analysis showed no significant differences in overall survival between the two groups (hazard ratio: 1.13; 95% confidence interval, 0.60–2.11; p = 0.70). However, the proportion of patients receiving granulocyte colony-stimulating factor was significantly lower in the oxaliplatin group than in the cisplatin group (2.3% vs.22.7%, p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Survival did not differ significantly between elderly patients with advanced gastric cancer treated with oxaliplatin-based versus cisplatin-based regimens; however, the oxaliplatin-based regimen was associated with less granulocyte colony-stimulating factor use. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12885-022-09581-6.