Attenuated SOX as First-line Treatment in Elderly Patients With Relapsed or Metastatic Gastric Cancer

Stomach cancer is the most common malignant disease and the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths in the Korea. The elderly are primarily affected by the disease with most gastric cancer-related deaths occuring in patients aged 65 years or older. Systemic chemotherapy improves the quantity and quality of life in patients with gastric cancer when compared with best supportive care. However, elderly cancer patients often present with concomitant co-morbidities and age-associated physiologic problems that make the selection of optimal treatment difficult. There is also uncertainty about the use of systemic palliative chemotherapy in elderly patients because of under representation of this age group in clinical trials. Therefore, this phase II trial was planned to investigate efficacy and toxicities of combination chemotherapy with attenuated dose of S-1 and oxaliplatin (attenuated SOX)in patients with elderly AGC