The combination of docetaxel and cisplatin plus fluorouracil as neoadjuvant chemotherapy in the treatment of T4 stage gastric cancer.

The prognosis of local advanced gastric carcinoma is very poor. We evaluated the impact on survival and the effects induced by the triple combination docetaxel-cisplatin-fluorouracil (DCF) as neoadjuvant chemotherapy in 24 T4 stage gastric tumor patients. They received 2-3 cycles DCF chemotherapy, followed by radical gastric resection. Tumor downstaging detected by CT was obtained in 17 out of 24 patients. The overall 3-year survival rate was 68.2%. Patients who received R0 resection (19/22) showed a 3-year survival rate of 78.9%. T downstaged patients (17/22) showed a higher 3-year survival rate of 82.4%. Those who responded to the triple combination of docetaxel-cisplatin-fluorouracil, exhibited T downstaging and subsequently received an R0 resection had a definitely better chance of a cure as compared to surgery alone, according to a complete 3-year follow-up. Copyright 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.