Efficacy and safety of capecitabine as maintenance treatment after first-line chemotherapy using oxaliplatin and capecitabine in advanced gastric adenocarcinoma patients: a prospective observation

The value of maintenance therapy after first-line chemotherapy has been verified in lung cancer and colorectal cancer, however, in gastric cancer, the role of maintenance therapy is still waiting for an answer. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of capecitabine as maintenance treatment after first-line chemotherapy in advanced gastric adenocarcinoma patients in China. Specimens of patients with advanced gastric adenocarcinoma who were given 6 cycles of oxaliplatin and capecitabine (Xelox for short) as first-line chemotherapy, without disease progression and with grade 2 or higher neuropathy, were collected for analysis. Among them, 64 patients received capecitabine as maintenance (group A) and 222 patients without maintenance as group B. Survival analysis was performed with a Cox regression model. Grades 3–4 adverse events were uncommon; hematologic toxicity was infrequent (5 %) and consistently mild in the phase of maintenance treatment. The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 11.4 months [95 % confidence interval (CI), 10.2–12.6 months] for group A patients, while it was 7.1 months (95 % CI, 6.1–8.0 months) for patients in group B, P < 0.001. The multivariated analysis showed that the maintenance treatment was an independent prognostic factor in advanced gastric adenocarcinoma patients. The style of first-line treatment-maintenance therapy (Xelox-X) was active and feasible for advanced gastric adenocarcinoma patients who had suffered from grade 2 or higher level of neuropathy.