Effect of tegafur, gimeracil and oteracil potassium combined with oxaliplatin on gastric motility-related hormones, matrix metalloproteinase-2 and matrix metalloproteinase-9 in elderly patients with gastric cancer

Objective To investigate the effects of tegafur, gimeracil and oteracil potassium combined with oxaliplatin on gastric motility-related hormones, matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) in elderly patients with gastric cancer.

Methods A total of 128 elderly patients with gastric cancer were selected as the study subjects and randomly divided into control group (n=64) and observation group (n=64). The control group was treated with tegafur, gimeracil and oteracil potassium, while the observation group received tegafur, gimeracil and oteracil potassium combined with oxaliplatin. Gastric motility-related hormones motilin (MTL) and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), MMP-2, MMP-9, tumor markers carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA125) and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9), clinical efficacy and occurrence of adverse reactions were observed in both groups. The correlations of gastric motility-related hormones with the levels of MMP-2, MMP-9 and tumor markers were analyzed.

Results After treatment, MTL levels in both groups were significantly lower, while VIP levels were significantly higher compared to before treatment. Additionally, the observation group had significantly lower MTL and higher VIP levels compared to the control group (P < 0.05). After treatment, the levels of MMP-2, MMP-9, CEA, CA125 and CA19-9 were significantly reduced in both groups compared to pretreatment levels, with the observation group showing significantly lower levels than the control group (P < 0.05). The total effective rate in the observation group was 70.31%, which was significantly higher than the 53.13% in the control group (P < 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of adverse reactions between the two groups (P>0.05). A negative correlation was observed between MTL and MMP-2, MMP-9, CEA, CA125 as well as CA19-9 (P < 0.05), while VIP showed a positive correlation with MMP-2, MMP-9, CEA, CA125 and CA19-9 (P < 0.05).

Conclusion The combination of tegafur, gimeracil and oteracil potassium and oxaliplatin is effective and safe for the treatment of elderly patients with gastric cancer. MTL, VIP, MMP-2, MMP-9, CEA, CA125 and CA19-9 are interrelated in the development of gastric cancer in elderly patients.