Chemotherapy and Radiation Therapy in Treating Patients With Stomach Cancer

Overview

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to damage tumor cells. Combining chemotherapy with radiation therapy may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of chemotherapy and radiation therapy in treating patients who have stomach cancer.

OBJECTIVES: * Determine the feasibility of preoperative chemoradiotherapy in patients with potentially resectable adenocarcinoma of the stomach. * Determine the pathologic response rate, curative resection rate, and survival in patients treated with this regimen. * Determine the tolerability of this regimen in these patients. OUTLINE: Patients receive fluorouracil IV over 24 hours on days 1-21, cisplatin IV over 1 hour on days 1-5, and leucovorin calcium IV over 15 minutes on days 1, 8, 15, and 22. A second course is administered beginning on day 29. Chemoradiotherapy begins at the end of the second course of chemotherapy and 1 week of rest (day 57). Patients receive fluorouracil IV over 24 hours 5 days a week concurrently with radiotherapy for 5 weeks and paclitaxel IV over 3 hours once weekly during these 5 weeks on days 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29. Approximately 4-5 weeks after chemoradiotherapy, patients with no evidence of metastatic disease undergo surgical resection. Patients are followed every 3 months for 1 year, every 6 months for 5 years, then annually thereafter. PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 21-49 patients will be accrued for this study within 2.5 years.

Conditions

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Eligibility

Locations (55)