Real World Treatment Patterns in Metastatic and/or Unresectable Gastric Cancer in Patients From Argentina

OBJECTIVES: Little evidence is available on the management of patients with Advanced Gastric Cancer (AGC) after failure of 1st-line treatment. This study presents real-world data on patient characteristics and treatment patterns for AGC patients in Argentina. METHODS: Data from medical charts were collected from 4 centers. Eligible patients were ≥18 years old, diagnosed with unresectable or metastatic GC, between January 2009 and June 2016, had received 1st-line chemotherapy treatment, had ≥3 months of follow-up after lst-line discontinuation, and had not participated in a clinical trial. Data were summarized using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: This preliminary report includes 69 patients. Mean age was 57.6 (SD 12.3) years and 84.1% of patients were male; 76.8% and 45% progressed to second and third-line therapies, respectively. ECOG performance status (PS) during lst-line treatment was PS=0 in 33.9%, PS=1 in 62.9%, and PS=2 in 3.2%.Prior to initiation 2° line, it was PS=0 in 32.1%, PS=1 in 52.8%, and PS=2 in 3.8%. Fifteen and twenty different regimens were used as 1st- and 2nd-line treatments, respectively. Epirubicin+Oxaliplatin+Capecitabine (24;34.8%), Capecitabine +Oxaliplatin (19; 27.5%), and Fluorouracil+Oxaliplatin+Lec ovorin (6; 8.7%) were the most frequent lst-line regimens, while Capecitabine (11; 20.8%). Docetaxel(10; 18.9%) and Irinotecan (6; 11.3%) prevailed in 2nd-line treatment. About one third of patients (35%) were hospitalized at any time after the diagnosis of unresectable or metastatic GC. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment patterns for patients with AGC in Argentinian institutions are highly heterogeneous. The results of this study may contribute to the development of new strategies and guidelines for AGC management in Argentina.