Gemcitabine (GEM) plus oxaliplatin, folinic acid, and 5-fluorouracil (FOLFOX-4) in patients with advanced gastric cancer

Abstract BACKGROUND AND AIMS: oxaliplatin in combination with folinic acid (FA) and infusional 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) has shown significant anti-tumor activity in gastric cancer patients (FOLFOX). Previous studies have shown that gemcitabine (GEM), a new fluorinated anti-metabolite, enhances the individual anti-tumor activity of either 5-FU or oxaliplatin. We have therefore designed a multi-center phase II trial in order to test a novel GEM+FOLFOX-4 regimen in patients with metastatic gastric cancer. METHODS: we enrolled 36 patients, 28 males and 8 females, with an average age of 64.4 years (range 37-78), who received bi-weekly treatment with GEM (1,000 mg/m2 on day 1), levo-FA (100 mg/m2 on…