ABSTRACT
Objective To explore the synergistic effectiveness of hyperthermia and chemotherapy in the treatment of advanced gastric cancer.Methods Eighty-nine patients with advanced gastric cancer were randomly assigned to a study group which received a CapeOx chemotherapy regimen supplemented with hyperthermia or to a control group which received only the CapeOx regimen.The regimen consisted of capecitabine (1000 mg/m2,bid,orally for 14 consecutive days) plus oxalipaltin (130 mg/m2) on day 1.The hyperthermia was at 43℃ for 60 min in the tumor area on day 1 and twice a week thereafter.One cycle was 21 days.After 2 treatment cycles,efficacy was evaluated according to RECIST standards,improvements in the quality of life were assessed according to Karnofsky's performance status (KPS) and the side-effects of therapy were recorded.Results The response rate was 68.9％ in the study group and 36.4％ in the control group,showing a significant difference between the groups after two treatment cycles.The median progress-free survival (PFS) was 8.3 months in the study group vs 5.2 months for the controls.The 1-year survival rate was 66.4％ vs 45.5％ and the rate of improvement in KPS was 77.8％ vs 45.5％.All these differences were statistically significant.The common adverse effects were gastrointestinal toxicity,marrow depression and peripheral nerve abnormalities,but these adverse effects were all mild and similar in the two groups.Conclusion Hyperthermia when combined with the CapeOx chemotherapy regimen might improve the therapeutic effect in advanced gastric cancer without obviously increasing the adverse effects.