Gastric cancer is the 4th common malignancy worldwide, and China is one of the countries with a high incidence of the disease. About 84% of patients with gastric cancer will have AGC, and their median survival time (MST) is only 3- 4 mo if not treated with chemotherapy.
A research team led by Professor Jian-Kun Hu from West China Hospital reviewed studies in China and made a health economic assessment of various regimens for AGC. The results reveal that new agent-containing regimens can achieve a higher CR+PR percentage although some new agents such as paclitaxel, docetaxel, oxaliplatin and capecitabine, have been used in treatment of AGC, as a second-line regimen. Chemotherapy with 5-fluorouracial-containing regimen is still the mainstream for AGC and can prolong the MST of AGC patients. More randomized clinical trials are required before any mandatory recommendation of certain regimens for AGC.
World Journal of Gastroenterology