Clinical Comparison between Paclitaxel Liposome (Lipusu^®) and Paclitaxel for Treatment of Patients with Metastatic Gastric Cancer

Aim: To compare the efficacy and safety of paclitaxel liposome (Lipusu$^{(R)}$) with paclitaxel in combination with tegafur and oxaliplatin in treating patients with advanced gastric cancer. Materials and Methods: Patients with advanced gastric cancer receiving chemotherapy were retrospectively collected, and divided into two groups. Patients in group A received paclitaxel liposomes at a dose of 135 $mg/m^2$ on day 1 of each cycle, and patients in group B were given paclitaxel at the same dose with the same timing. All patients received tegafur at a dose of 500 $mg/m^2$ on days 1-5, and oxaliplatin at a dose of 80-100 $mg/m^2$ on day 1 for 2 cycles (each cycle was 21 d in total). Results: Fifty-eight patients could be evaluated for efficacy. The overall response rate was 47% in group A (14/30), and 46% in group B (13/28). Disease control rate was 73% in group A (22/30), and 71% in group B (20/28) (P>0.05). No significant differences were detected in hematologic and neurologic toxicities between the two groups (P>0.05). However, nausea, vomiting and hypersensitive reactions were significantly lower in group A than in group B (P<0.05). Conclusion: Paclitaxel liposomes are as effective as paclitaxel when combined with tegafur and oxaliplation in treating patients with advanced gastric cancer, but adverse reactions with paclitaxel liposomes are less common.