Randomised controlled trial of adjuvant chemotherapy by portal-vein perfusion after curative resection for colorectal adenocarcinoma.
About half the patients treated with curative resection for colorectal cancer do not survive long-term. Adjuvant chemotherapy given during and after surgery may prevent hepatic metastases and improve patient survival. In patients with colorectal cancer, we have done a multicentre, randomised controlled trial comparing five-year survival after intraportal infusion of fluorouracil (1 g per day) plus heparin (10,000 U per day) (130 patients) or heparin alone (123) during curative resection and for 7 days thereafter, or after resection alone (145). There was no reduction in liver metastasis or increased overall survival advantage in either active-treatment arm of the study. However, patients who had stage III, Dukes' C (lymph-node-positive) tumours resected and were treated with fluorouracil plus heparin had a significant (p less than 0.03) survival advantage of about 16% compared with surgery-only controls. Further study of intraportal infusion of chemotherapeutic agent as adjuvant treatment to surgery in patients with colorectal cancer appears worthwhile.
Academic Surgical Unit, St Mary's Hospital, London, UK.
L P
LP
Fielding
R
R
Hittinger
R H
RH
Grace
J S
JS
Fry
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000601:surgery; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000601:surgery; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006493:Heparin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D007262:Infusions, Intravenous; D011169:Portal Vein; D016019:Survival Analysis
D006493:Heparin; D005472:Fluorouracil