Palliative chemotherapy for gastroesophageal cancer in old and very old patients: A retrospective cohort study at the National Center for Tumor Diseases, Heidelberg

Table 1 Patients demographics

Patient characteristics	n (%)
Number of patients	55
Median age (range), yr	76 (70-86)
Gender
Female	16 (29.1)
Male	39 (70.9)
ECOG PS
0	10 (18.2)
1	27 (49.1)
2	14 (25.5)
3	4 (7.3)
Metastatic disease	52 (94.5)
Locally advanced tumor	3 (5.5)
Primary palliative treatment	40 (72.7)
Secondary palliative treatment	15 (27.3)
Prior (neo) adjuvant CTX	12 (21.8)
Histology
Adenocarcinoma	52 (94.5)
Sqaumous cell carcinoma	3 (5.5)
Site of Tumor
Stomach, distal	25 (45.5)
Cardia	15 (27.3)
Esophagus, distal	9 (16.4)
Other	2 (3.6)
NA	4 (7.3)
Number of deaths	50 (90.9)
Cause of death
Tumor	40 (80)
Infection	2 (4)
Unknown	8 (16)

ECOG PS: Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status.

Table 2 Characteristics of chemotherapy

Treatment characteristics	n (%)
Median duration of first-line therapy (range), d	105 (6-568)
First-line therapy
Single-agent (Fluoropyrimidine)	3 (5.5)
Doublet	47 (85.5)
FLO	38 (69.1)
FLP	2 (3.6)
XP	2 (3.6)
FOLFIRI	2 (3.6)
Other	3 (5.5)
Triplet	5 (9.1)
EOX	2 (3.6)
FLOT	2 (3.6)
TFLP	1 (1.8)
Oxaliplatin-based therapy	42 (76.4)
Cisplatin-based therapy	7 (12.7)
Other therapy	6 (10.9)
Trastuzumab containing therapy	5 (9.1)
Participation in clinical trial	3 (5.5)
Toxicities with dosage reduction	31 (56.4)
Polyneuropathy HematotoxicityLeucopeniaThrombopenia	14 (25.5) 6 (10.9)3 (5.5)3 (5.5)
Fatigue	4 (7.3)
Nausea	4 (7.3)
Other	3 (5.5)
Toxicities with interruption of treatment	6 (10.9)
Polyneuropathy	2 (3.6)
Fatigue	2 (3.6)
Anaphylaxia	1 (1.8)
Infection	1 (1.8)
Second-line treatment	28 (50.9)

FLO: 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU), leucovorin, oxaliplatin; FLP: 5-FU, leucovorin, cisplatin; XP: Capecitabine, cisplatin; FOLFIRI: 5-FU, leucovorin, irinotecan; EOX: Epirubicin, oxaliplatin, capecitabine; FLOT: 5-FU, leucovorin, oxaliplatin, docetaxel; TFLP: Docetaxel, 5-FU, leucovorin, cisplatin.

Table 3 Multivariate analysis of overall survival

Prognostic factor	Hazard ratio	95%CI	Significance
Initial ECOG (2/3 vs 0/11)	3.9	2.0-7.5	P < 0.001
Secondline (Yes vs No1)	0.44	0.2-0.8	P = 0.006
Very old (≥ 75 yr vs < 75 yr1)	1.36	0.7-2.5	P = 0.314

¹Reference. ECOG: Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group.