Clinical study of docetaxel plus S-1 as neoadjuvant therapy for advanced gastric cancer

Objective To evaluate the efficacy, toxicity, and operative complications of docetaxel in combination with S-1 for treating patients with advanced gastric cancer. Methods From July 2013 to December 2014, 30 patients with advanced gastric cancer were treated with i.v. docetaxel 75 mg/m;on day 1 and oral S-1 60 mg/m;bid on days 1–14 every 3 weeks. The efficacy and toxicity were evaluated after two chemotherapy cycles. Results The overall treatment response（complete response [CR] + partial response [PR]） was 76.6%（23/30）, CR was 6.7%（2/30）, PR was 70.0%（21/30）, SD was 23.3%（7/30）, and progression disease was 0%（0/30）. All patients were treated surgically. Twenty-six patients received radical surgery; of them, 23 received D2 lymph node dissection. The other four patients received exploratory celiotomy. No patients died in the group, and the adverse reactions included neutropenia, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting. Conclusion Docetaxel/S-1 combination is highly active, safe, and well tolerated in patients with advanced gastric cancer. Further investigations in randomized studies are warranted.