A phase II study of paclitaxel and nedaplatin as front-line chemotherapy in Chinese patients with metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Aim: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of paclitaxel-nedaplatin combination as a front-line regimen in Chinese patients with metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).
Methods: A two-center, open-label, single-arm phase II study was designed. Thirty-nine patients were enrolled and included in the intention-to-treat analysis of efficacy and adverse events. Patients received 175 mg/m² of paclitaxel over a 3 h infusion on 1 d, followed by nedaplatin 80 mg/m² in a 1 h infusion on 2 d every 3 wk until the documented disease progression, unacceptable toxicity or patient's refusal.
Results: Of the 36 patients assessable for efficacy, there were 2 patients (5.1%) with complete response and 16 patients (41.0%) with partial response, giving an overall response rate of 46.1%. The median progression-free survival and median overall survival for all patients were 7.1 mo (95%CI: 4.6-9.7) and 12.4 mo (95%CI: 9.5-15.3), respectively. Toxicities were moderate and manageable. Grade 3/4 toxicities included neutropenia (15.4%), nausea (10.3%), anemia (7.7%), thrombocytopenia (5.1%), vomiting (5.1%) and neutropenia fever (2.6%).
Conclusion: The combination of paclitaxel and nedaplatin is active and well tolerated as a first-line therapy for patients with metastatic ESCC.