title: Systemic chemotherapy for advanced gastrointestinal cancer.
abstract: The chemotherapeutic agents commonly used to treat malignant tumors of the digestive system are reviewed. Despite considerable experience with multidrug treatments, progress in the systemic treatment of advanced tumors of digestive organs has been limited. No single agent currently available has consistently given an overall response rate superior to 30%, and none of the multidrug chemotherapy regimens has consistently produced responses in more than 50% of patients treated. None of the available treatment programs has significantly prolonged the overall survival of these patients. One of the most urgent objectives of the investigative oncologist is the systematic evaluation of the efficacy of new antitumor agents in the treatment of these malignancies.
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D001079:Apudoma / Q000188:drug therapy; D001661:Biliary Tract Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005770:Gastrointestinal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy; D012004:Rectal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D005472:Fluorouracil