Clinical efficacy of trastuzumab combined with different chemotherapies in patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 positive advanced gastric cancer: A retrospective study

Objective To evaluate treatment outcomes between tratuzumab in combination with capecitabine as well as oxaliplatin(XELOX)and tratuzumab in combination with gimeracil as well as oxaliplatin(SOX)therapies in patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor-2(Her-2)positive advanced gastric cancer. Methods Patients(n=40)who received trastuzumab-XELOX or trastuzumab-SOX therapy as first-line chemotherapy were separately assigned to the trastuzumab-XELOX group(n=21)or trastuzumab-SOX group(n=19), capecitabine(850 mg/m², twice a day, lasting for 1 to 14 d, every 3 weeks was a chemotherapy cycle )or gimeracil(40 mg/m², twice a day, lasting 1 to 14 d, every 3 weeks was a chemotherapy cycle)were separately administered. On 1^st day of each cycle, 130 mg/m² of oxaliplatin was intravenously infused in each chemotherapy cycle in both groups. Taking 8 mg/kg on first day of each cycle as fist dosage and 6 mg/kg afterwards, trastuzumab was also intravenously infused. The efficacy and adverse reactions of the two groups were compared. Results In the trastuzumab-XELOX group, response rate(RR), disease control rate(DCR)and progression-free survival(PFS)period were 38.1%, 85.7%and 7.6 months, respectively.- In the trastuzumab-SOX group, RR, DCR and PFS were 47.4%, 84.2% and 8.2 months, respectively. There were no significant differences in short- and long-term efficacy between two groups(P>0.05). Grade 3 or 4 hand-foot syndrome was more frequently observed in the trastuzumab-XELOX group than in the trastuzumab-SOX group, there was no significant difference in the incidence of other adverse reactions(P>0.05). Conclusion Trastumuzab-SOX therapy has the equal efficacy versus trastumuzab-XELOX therapy, but the former has better safety, and can be used interchangeably for patients with Her2-positive advanced gastric cancer.