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Objective: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is known to be a potent proangiogenic factor. This study evaluates the potential association of three VEGF gene polymorphisms (–460T > C, +405G > C, and 936C > T) with the susceptibility to and clinicopathologic characteristics of gastric cancer. Methods: The VEGF genotypes were determined using paraffin-embedded tissue from 413 patients who underwent a surgical resection and peripheral blood lymphocytes from 413 healthy controls by PCR-RFLP assay. Results: There was no difference in the allele frequency of –460T > C polymorphism. However, for the +405G > C polymorphism, the +405C allele was associated with a significantly decreased susceptibility to gastric cancer [odds ratio (OR) 0.686; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.564–0.834]. Although there was no significant difference in the distribution of the 936C > T polymorphism between the two groups, the 936T allele was associated with a decreased susceptibility to gastric cancer (OR 0.757; 95% CI 0.591–0.970). In the haplotype analyses, the haplotype TCT (OR 0.405; 95% CI 0.263–0.624) was most closely associated with a decreased susceptibility to gastric cancer. However, no significant association was observed between the frequency of the genotypes or alleles and the clinicopathologic characteristics of gastric cancer. Conclusion: These observations imply that the VEGF gene polymorphisms may be associated with the susceptibility to gastric cancer. However, further studies of other VEGF sequence variants and their biological functions are needed to understand the role of the VEGF polymorphisms in determining the susceptibility to gastric cancer.

Objectives: A phase II study was conducted to evaluate the response rate and safety of a combination regimen of docetaxel plus capecitabine in patients with advanced gastric cancer. Patients and Methods: Patients with previously untreated metastatic or recurrent measurable gastric cancer received i.v. docetaxel 75 mg/m2 on day 1 and oral capecitabine 1,000 mg/m2 twice daily from day 1 to 14 every 3-week cycle. Results: Thirty-two patients were enrolled in the current study. Of these, 30 patients were assessable for efficacy and 31 assessable for toxicity. One complete response and 13 partial responses were confirmed, giving an overall response rate of 43.8% (95% CI; 25.6–61.9%). The median time to progression and median overall survival for all patients was 5.07 months and 8.4 months, respectively. Grade 3/4 neutropenia occurred in 3 patients (9.7%) and febrile neutropenia was observed in 2 patients (6.3%). Grade 1/2 nausea was observed in 45.2% of patients. Grade 2–3 hand-foot syndrome occurred in 4 patients (12.9%). Conclusions: The combination of docetaxel and capectabine was found to be well tolerated and effective in patients with advanced gastric cancer. Accordingly, this regimen can be regarded as an important first-line treatment option for advanced gastric cancer.