title: Retrospective comparison of infusional 5-fluorouracil, doxorubicin, and mitomycin-C (modified FAM) combination chemotherapy versus palliative therapy in treatment of advanced gastric cancer.
abstract: About one-third of patients with gastric cancer are unresectable at the time of diagnosis. Their median survival is < 6 months, with a grave prognosis. The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of a modified FAM (mFAM) regimen in advanced gastric cancer. We retrospectively reviewed the clinical records of 409 advanced gastric cancer patients who had not received curative surgery. Among 409 patients, 202 patients were treated with an mFAM regimen (infusional 5-FU + doxorubocin + mitomycin-C), and 207 patients received no chemotherapy (control group). No differences were found in clinical parameters between the two groups. The 1-year survival rates were 34.1% for the mFAM-treated group and 22.5% for the control group (p = 0.0135). In subset analysis, a higher 1-year survival rate was demonstrated in patients with mFAM and palliative surgery. Of the 154 evaluable patients in the mFAM-treated group, the response rate was 17.5%. In these patients, median response duration was 30 weeks, and progression-free survival was 23 weeks. Overall toxicity of mFAM regimen was relatively tolerable and reversible. In conclusion, FAM combination chemotherapy, which has been used as a standard therapy, prolonged survival after modification of the administration schedule and combination with palliative surgery. A prospective randomized study is warranted to confirm this conclusion from our retrospective study.
authors.affiliation: Yonsei Cancer Center, Yonsei Cancer Research Institute, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: J O
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: H C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: J Y
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: S Y
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Rha
authors.forename: N C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: You
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: S H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Noh
authors.forename: C B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Min
authors.forename: B S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: J K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Roh
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000601:surgery; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000903:Antibiotics, Antineoplastic / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D000964:Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018450:Disease Progression; D004317:Doxorubicin / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D006801:Humans; D007262:Infusions, Intravenous; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016685:Mitomycin / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D010166:Palliative Care; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012074:Remission Induction; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000601:surgery; D015996:Survival Rate; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000903:Antibiotics, Antineoplastic; D000964:Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic; D016685:Mitomycin; D004317:Doxorubicin; D005472:Fluorouracil