title: Final results of a phase III clinical trial of adjuvant chemotherapy with the modified fluorouracil, doxorubicin, and mitomycin regimen in resectable gastric cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  In a randomized clinical trial (European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer [EORTC] no. 40813) on adjuvant chemotherapy in gastric cancer, results obtained after administration of the FAM2 regimen (fluorouracil [5-FU], doxorubicin, and mitomycin) were compared with results obtained after surgery alone to assess the effect of this regimen on overall survival, time to progression, and disease-free interval.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three hundred fourteen patients who had undergone curative resection for stage II or stage III (International Union Against Cancer [UICC] 1978) gastric adenocarcinoma were randomized to receive chemotherapy (treatment arm) or no further treatment (control arm). The chemotherapy schedule was repeated every 43 days for seven cycles. The log-rank test and the Cox model were used for statistical analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 314 patients, 159 comprised the control group and 155 the FAM2 group. Nineteen FAM2 patients never received chemotherapy. The median number of cycles was five. Of the patients started on adjuvant treatment, severe hematologic and nonhematologic toxicity (grades 3 or 4, World Health Organization [WHO] scale) occurred, respectively, in 6% to 9% and in 1% to 29% of cases. The overall 5-year survival rate was 70% for stage II and 32% for stage III patients. No statistically significant difference was found between overall survival of the two treatment arms (P = .295). However, time to progression was significantly delayed in the FAM2 arm (P = .020) and disease-free survival showed borderline significance (P = .068).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  FAM2, in view of its high toxicity, cannot be advocated as standard adjuvant treatment for gastric cancer. Large-scale clinical trials using more active, less toxic regimens are required to demonstrate whether adjuvant chemotherapy provides any real benefit.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Clinica Chirurgica II, Università di Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lise
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nitti
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Marchet
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sahmoud
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Buyse
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Duez
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fiorentino
authors.forename: J G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Dos Santos
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Labianca
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rougier
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D004317:Doxorubicin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005060:Europe; D005260:Female; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000008:administration & dosage; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016685:Mitomycin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery; D015996:Survival Rate
chemical_list: D016685:Mitomycin; D004317:Doxorubicin; D005472:Fluorouracil