title: Prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized trial of cimetidine in gastric cancer. British Stomach Cancer Group.
abstract: Cimetidine is thought to inhibit suppressor T-lymphocyte function and preliminary evidence from a randomized trial indicated that it might prolong survival for patients with operable and inoperable gastric cancer. The British Stomach Cancer Group conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial examining the effects of cimetidine (400 mg or 800 mg twice a day) on the survival of patients with early (stages I, II and III: n = 229) and advanced (stages IVa and IVb: n = 201) gastric cancer. The primary end point was death. A total of 442 patients were randomized by 59 consultants in 39 hospitals between February 1990 and March 1995. Log-rank survival analysis was used to assess differences between the groups. Three hundred and forty patients died during the study: 166 (49%) in the cimetidine treatment groups and 174 (51%) in the placebo groups. Median survival for patients receiving cimetidine was 13 months (95% confidence interval (CI) 9-16 months) and 11 months in the placebo arm (95% CI 9-14 months). There was no significant difference in survival between the two treatment groups (P = 0.42) or between different doses of cimetidine tablets (P = 0.46). Five-year survival of those patients randomized to cimetidine was 21% compared to 18% for those patients randomized to placebo. Cimetidine at a dose of 400 mg or 800 mg twice a day does not have a significant influence on the survival of patients with gastric cancer compared to placebo.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, CRC Institute for Cancer Studies, Clinical Research Block, The Medical School, Edgbaston, Birmingham, UK.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Langman
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Dunn
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Whiting
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Burton
authors.forename: M T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Hallissey
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Fielding
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Kerr
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002927:Cimetidine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006635:Histamine H2 Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010919:Placebos; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology; D016019:Survival Analysis; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D006635:Histamine H2 Antagonists; D010919:Placebos; D002927:Cimetidine