TITLE:
Role of Chemotherapy in Advanced Gastric Cancer: Review from a Latin American Perspective
AUTHORS:
Marcelo Garrido, Paula Jimenez-Fonseca, Maria Pilar Solis, Alberto Carmona-Bayonas, Sebastian Mondaca, Bruno Nervi, Jorge Madrid
KEYWORDS:
Advanced Gastric Cancer, Chemotherapy, Targeted Therapy, Molecular Classification, Latin America
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Cancer Therapy,
Vol.7 No.1,
January
4,
2016
ABSTRACT: Gastric cancer (GC) is the fourth most common
neoplasm and the second leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. In
Latin America (LA), the burden of this disease is higher and is the leading
cause of cancer death in some countries. Chemotherapy is the standard treatment
for advanced-stage GC. However, the best regimen for specific populations, such
as LA, is as yet unknown. Cisplatin and fluoropyrimidine continue to be the
standard of care in light of the findings of phase III studies, while
docetaxel, cisplatin, and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) are alternatives for patients
with suitable overall health. Oxaliplatin or irinotecan with fluoropyrimidine
can also be used in elderly patients who are not candidates for cisplatin, or
have a limited performance status. This review examines studies conducted in
LA. Patients from LA are under-represented in multicenter trials of
chemotherapy and targeted therapies. The major challenges currently lie in
implementing strategies in which patients are selected on the basis of
regional, racial or molecular characteristics, to consider the molecular
subtype of GC for enrolment, and in selecting patients according to prognostic
factors to optimize the benefits of chemotherapy.