Predicting Peripheral Neuropathy of Paclitaxel for Gastric Cancer

Although advances in chemotherapy have improved the prognosis of gastric cancer patients, many patients still suffer from adverse events. Therefore, it is necessary to establish personalized treatment by identifying patients at high risk for side effects. Although paclitaxel-based therapy is the standard second-line treatment, peripheral neuropathy is a troublesome adverse event. The purpose of this study is to establish a liquid biopsy assay to predict paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy in gastric cancer patients.

Inclusion Criteria: 1. unresectable or recurrent Gastric cancer (GC) histologically confirmed to be primary adenocarcinoma of the stomach. 2. age over 20 years. 3. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status score of 0-2. 4. written informed consent following full study information is provided to the patient. 5. progression or intolerance for first-line chemotherapy comprising fluorinated pyrimidine and platinum anticancer drugs (cisplatin or oxaliplatin) for advanced GC. 6. presence of evaluable lesions as confirmed using a computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Patients with a life expectancy of shorter than 3 months 2. Patients with severe complications (angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, or arrhythmia) or uncontrollable diabetes mellitus, blood hypertension, or bleeding tendency. 3. Patients with a history of serious allergic reactions or serious drug allergy. 4. Patients with a clinically relevant mental disorder that prohibits response to questionnaires. 5. Patients for whom the attending physician considered that enrollment in the study is inappropriate.