[Low-dose paclitaxel therapy as second-line chemotherapy for patients who previously received TS-1 therapy]

TS-1 is often used as first-line chemotherapy for treatment of advanced or recurrent gastric cancer, but there is no definite therapeutic policy for patients for whom TS-1 is not effective, or to whom it cannot be administered. We have treated 6 patients with low-dose weekly paclitaxel therapy as second-line chemotherapy after initial treatment with TS-1. These patients consisted of 3 males and 3 females with a mean age of 56 years. Four patients had recurrent gastric cancer and two had unresectable advanced gastric cancer. Paclitaxel was administered in doses of 80 or 100 mg weekly. Adverse events more severe than grade 3 were not observed, but there were 2 cases of leukopenia (grade 1) and 2 cases of decreased hemoglobin (grade 2). Mean survival time after the administration of paclitaxel was 139 days. Five patients died of their cancer, and one is still alive 382 days after the paclitaxel administration. The one-year survival rate after administration was 16.7%. Low-dose weekly paclitaxel therapy is therefore safe and effective for patients with advanced and recurrent gastric cancer who previously received TS-1 therapy.