PMID: 9427271Jan 14, 1998Paper

Treatment of patients with upper gastrointestinal carcinomas

Seminars in Oncology
J Ajani

Abstract

Carcinomas of the stomach and esophagus are a major health problem worldwide. Cancer remains incurable when it is metastatic or unresectable, and new active agents are needed to improve the outcome for these patients. Three phase II studies of paclitaxel (Taxol; Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Princeton, NJ) are described here. The first, at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, examined the role of single-agent paclitaxel in untreated patients with advanced gastric carcinoma. Thirty-three patients were accrued. The starting dose of paclitaxel was 200 mg/m2 and it was repeated every 21 days. The first 15 patients received paclitaxel administered over 3 hours, and the subsequent 18 patients received paclitaxel administered over 24 hours. Three patients were not evaluable. Among the first 15 patients (two not evaluable) receiving paclitaxel over 3 hours, there was one partial response (PR) (8%) and three minor responses (MRs) (23%). Among the 18 patients (one not evaluable) receiving paclitaxel over 24 hours, however, there were four PRs (24%) and three MRs (18%). The overall PR rate was 17% (five of 30 patients). The median duration of PR was 6.5 months (range, 2.3 to 11.3+ months). Myelosuppression was more severe with the 24-hour schedul...Continue Reading

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