title: Alternating immunochemotherapy of advanced gastric carcinoma: a randomized comparison of carbazilquinone and PSK to carbazilquinone in patients with curative gastric resection.
abstract: A total of 103 patients with advanced gastric carcinoma were randomized after curative surgery to receive an alternate administration of carbazilquinone (CQ) and PSK (Krestin) or carbazilquinone alone. Each course of therapies started 1 week after the surgical operation and therapy schedules consisted of 9 courses. In each course of 6 weeks, CQ (2 mg/m2/week) was administered on day 0, 8, and 15. In combined immunochemotherapy group, PSK was given orally in 3-divided doses of 2 g/m2/day from the day of the third CQ administration for consecutive 4 weeks. Estimated survival rate and cumulative survival curve were compared utilizing the data up to 7 years after the operation. There was no overall significant difference in survival rates between the CQ plus PSK group and the CQ alone group, but a group of patients whose disease was classified as S1 + S2(N1-2) survived significantly longer when treated with the combination of CQ and PSK. Neither in more advanced cases (greater than S3 or greater than N3) nor in cancers of early stages, the addition of PSK provided an additive effect. The favorable result obtained in one subgroup treated with PSK, suggests that the use of this agent in treating gastric cancers should be carefully evaluated in terms of serosal infiltration and nodal metastasis.
authors.affiliation: Tokai Central Hospital, Gifu, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kondo
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sakamoto
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nakazato
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy*; D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002225:Carbazilquinone / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005743:Gastrectomy; D006801:Humans; D007155:Immunologic Factors / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015993:Life Tables; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011509:Proteoglycans / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy*; D016019:Survival Analysis; D015996:Survival Rate
chemical_list: D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic; D007155:Immunologic Factors; D011509:Proteoglycans; D002225:Carbazilquinone; C010770:polysaccharide-K