A new combination chemotherapy with cis-diammine-glycolatoplatinum (Nedaplatin) and 5-fluorouracil for advanced esophageal cancers.
OBJECTIVE
The efficacy of a new chemotherapeutic combination consisting of Cis-diammineglycolatoplatinum (Nedaplatin), a derivative of cisplatin (CDDP), and 5-fluorouracil (5FU) was evaluated in patients with advanced esophageal carcinomas.


METHODS
Nedaplatin was administered at a dose of 80 or 100 mg/m2 with 500 ml of saline by slow drip infusion for 120 minutes on day 1. 5FU at a dose of 350 or 500 mg/m2 was mixed with 1,000 ml of saline and administered by continuous infusion for 24 hours on days 1 to 5.


METHODS
This combination chemotherapy was tried in 17 patients with metastatic, recurrent, or bulky unresectable esophageal cancers. Of these, 15 evaluable patients received at least two courses of chemotherapy.


RESULTS
The response rates in assessable and all patients were 60% and 52.9%, respectively. Cases with lymph node and liver metastases, as well as primary lesions, showed excellent response to the therapy with positive response rates of 54.5% (6/11), 100% (5/5) and 58.4% (7/12), respectively. The median response duration was 7 (range 3 to 37+) months for patients who achieved a partial response. Adverse drug reactions were limited to three cases of grade 3 toxicity, including allergy, and decreased hemoglobin and platelets, which were well tolerated by the patients.


CONCLUSIONS
The present study thus indicated the combination chemotherapy of Nedaplatin and 5FU to be safe and efficacious for advanced esophageal cancer. Further investigations are clearly warranted.
Yoshioka
T
T
Department of Clinical Oncology, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai.
Gamoh
M
M
Shineha
R
R
Ishibashi
S
S
Shibata
H
H
Suzuki
T
T
Murakawa
Y
Y
Kato
S
S
Shimodaira
H
H
Kato
S
S
Ishioka
C
C
Kanamaru
R
R
D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009944:Organoplatinum Compounds / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011379:Prognosis
D009944:Organoplatinum Compounds; C053989:nedaplatin; D005472:Fluorouracil