Paclitaxel and Capecitabine in Patients With Metastatic/Recurrence Esophageal Cancer

Capecitabine is an orally administered fluoropyrimidine that is converted by 5-FU by thymidine phosphorylase (TP), preferentially in tumor tissues and has demonstrated activity as single agent in patients with gastrointestinal cancer. Up-regulation of TP after taxane treatment in vitro suggested that there may be synergistic effects in combined treatment with taxane and capecitabine. The combination of taxane and capecitabine was reported to be highly active against non-small cell lung cancer, breast cancer, and stomach cancer.