Multimodal primary cancer treatment (adjuvant chemotherapy): current results and future prospects.
In the 1970s chemotherapy has been successfully incorporated into curative primary treatment programs for various adult malignancies so that it is no longer solely palliative treatment for advanced disease. For at least three malignancies and tentatively a fourth (breast and colon carcinoma, osteosarcoma, and melanoma), certain groups of patients have had longer disease-free survival produced by the use of chemotherapy after surgical removal of the primary lesion. The potential impact on cancer mortality from these treatment results is obvious. We review here the fundamental laboratory concepts that have led to human trial of multimodal primary therapy regimens. Data from numerous clinical trials are analyzed, with delineation of the problems encountered in the interpretation of their results.
D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D008325:Mammary Neoplasms, Experimental / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery; D008545:Melanoma / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery; D009374:Neoplasms, Experimental / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery; D012516:Osteosarcoma / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D005472:Fluorouracil