title: Gastric cancer-survival at the Pennsylvania Hospital with and without adjuvant chemotherapy.
abstract: From 1964 to 1974, 122 patients were treated for gastric cancer; none of these patients received chemotherapy; 13 of this group were lost to follow-up. In 34 patients, the disease was too far advanced for surgical resection. Their survival ranged from 0.1 month to 7.5 months with a median survival of 1.1 months. Seventy-four patients were resected for cure; 60 patients underwent a subtotal gastrectomy. Survival ranged from 0 to 72 months with a median of eight months. Fourteen patients had total gastrectomies; survival ranged from 0.1 to 72 months with a median of 5.5 months. Only six of the resected patients had negative lymph nodes; their survival ranged from four to 36 months. In this series there were 11 operative deaths and only seven patients survived five years. Thirty-one patients who had resections were treated with adjuvant chemotherapy consisting of 0.5 g 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) IV on days 1, 8, 15, etc, and hydroxyurea (HU), 80 mg/kg per os (p.o.), on days 4, 11, 18, etc. This group has a range of survival from three to 164 months and a median survival of 25 months. Fifteen consecutive patients with nonresectable gastric cancer were treated with HU-FU with a survival of one to 30 months and a median survival of eight months. In patients with measurable disease, objective regression was clearly demonstrated.
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005743:Gastrectomy; D006801:Humans; D006918:Hydroxyurea / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010414:Pennsylvania; D011379:Prognosis; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery
chemical_list: D005472:Fluorouracil; D006918:Hydroxyurea