title: Continuous-infusion 5-fluorouracil combined with doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide: feasibility study.
abstract: Previous studies have demonstrated continuous-infusion 5-fluorouracil (CI 5-FU) to be an active single-agent treatment for breast cancer without significant myelotoxicity. These qualities made CI 5-FU an attractive agent for combination with other effective but myelosuppressive agents. In this study we attempted to determine the maximal doses of CI 5-FU that could be added to a combination of agents known to be dose limited by myelotoxicity, doxorubicin 50 mg/m2 day 2 and cyclophosphamide 150 mg/m2 days 3-12 of a 28-day cycle. Patients who received doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide alone developed significant myelotoxicity but did not develop stomatitis. The addition of 5-7 days of CI 5-FU at 200-300 mg/m2 was associated more closely with increased stomatitis (P = .11) than with increased granulocytopenia (P = .57). The stomatitis observed for low doses of CI 5-FU given with doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide would not have been expected for these low doses of CI 5-FU given as a single agent. We conclude that the addition of CI 5-FU to myelotoxic doses of doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide is not a promising therapeutic strategy for significantly increasing the effectiveness of this combination of agents.
authors.affiliation: Green Bay Oncology, St. Vincent Hospital Annex, WI 54307-3453.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Saphner
authors.forename: D C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Tormey
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Carey
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000556:secondary; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D003520:Cyclophosphamide / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004317:Doxorubicin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000008:administration & dosage; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012074:Remission Induction
chemical_list: D004317:Doxorubicin; D003520:Cyclophosphamide; D005472:Fluorouracil