Efficacy of docetaxel combined with oxaliplatin and fluorouracil against stage Ⅲ/Ⅳ gastric cancer

AIM:To investigate the clinical efficacy and toxic effects of neoadjuvant chemotherapy using docetaxel combined with oxaliplatin and fluorouracil for treating stageⅢ/Ⅳgastric cancer.METHODS:A total of 53 stageⅢ/Ⅳgastric cancer patients were enrolled into the study and treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy.Two of the cases were excluded.The program was as follows:75 mg/m2docetaxel and 85 mg/m2 oxaliplatin on day 1 and 1500mg/m2 fluorouracil on days 1 to 3 for three weeks.RESULTS:The tumour changes,postoperative remission rate,changes in the symptoms and adverse reactions were observed.The overall clinical efficacy(com-plete remission+partial remission)of the neoadjuvant chemotherapy was 62.7%.R0 radical resection was performed on 60.8%of the patients,with a remission rate(pathological complete response+pathological subtotal response+pathological partial response)of74.2%.The Karnofksy score improved in 42 cases.The toxicity reactions mostly included myelosuppression,followed by gastrointestinal mucosal lesions,nausea,vomiting and diarrhoea.CONCLUSION:Neoadjuvant chemotherapy consisting of docetaxel combined with oxaliplatin and fluorouracil is effective for stageⅢ/Ⅳgastric cancer.However,the treatment is associated with a high incidence of bone marrow suppression,which should be managed clinically.