J Korean Med Sci.  2005 Aug;20(4):618-623. 10.3346/jkms.2005.20.4.618.

Bi-weekly Chemotherapy of Paclitaxel and Cisplatin in Patients with Metastatic or Recurrent Esophageal Cancer

• Cho SH
• Chung IJ
• Song SY
• Yang DH
• Byun JR
• Kim YK
• Lee JJ
• Na KJ
• Kim HJ

• KMID: 1712743
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2005.20.4.618

Abstract

Although various combinations of chemotherapy regimens have been tried for patients with esophageal cancer, their duration of survival is extremely poor. In this study, we investigated the safety and clinical efficacy of paclitaxel and cisplatin chemotherapy in metastatic or recurrent esophageal cancer. 32 patients enrolled in this study and the median age was 60 yr. Of all the 32, 28 patients (88%) had been treated previously, 22 of them with chemotherapy or radiation therapy. All patients in the study received biweekly paclitaxel (90 mg/m2) followed by cisplatin (50 mg/m2). One patient (3%) responded completely, and 12 patients (38%) showed a partial response; in 9 patients (28%) the disease remained stable, and in 10 patients (31%) it progressed. The objective response rate was 41%. The median duration of response was 4.8 months, and the median overall survival in all patients was 7 months. The 1-yr and 2-yr survival rates were 28.1% and 7.1%, respectively. Grade 3 or 4 of neutropenia and anemia were observed in 6 (19%) and 5 (16%) patients, respectively. The major non-hematologic toxicity was fatigue, but most of them could manageable. In conclusion, biweekly paclitaxel and cisplatin is effective in patients with metastatic or recurrent esophageal cancer.

Keyword

Esophageal Neoplasms; Drug Therapy; Combination; Paclitaxel; Cisplatin

MeSH Terms

Aged
Anemia/chemically induced
Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/adverse effects/*therapeutic use
Bone Neoplasms/drug therapy/secondary
Cisplatin/administration & dosage/adverse effects
Diarrhea/chemically induced
Esophageal Neoplasms/*drug therapy/pathology
Fatigue/chemically induced
Humans
Liver Neoplasms/drug therapy/secondary
Lung Neoplasms/drug therapy/secondary
Lymphatic Metastasis
Male
Middle Aged
Nausea/chemically induced
Neoplasm Recurrence, Local
Paclitaxel/administration & dosage/adverse effects
Survival Analysis
Thrombocytopenia/chemically induced
Time Factors
Treatment Outcome
Vomiting/chemically induced

Figure

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  Fig. 1 NCI-CTC toxicities compared treatment naive and previous treated patients.

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  Fig. 2 Kaplan-Meier survival curve for responding (n=13) and non-responding patients (n=19) (p=0.0069).

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