title: Long-term continuous 5-fluorouracil infusion in patients with advanced head and neck cancer.
abstract: Forty-two patients with advanced head and neck cancer entered this phase II trial of long-term continuous 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) infusion at a dose of 300 mg/m2/day for a maximum of 16 weeks. Objective response rate was 15% in 41 evaluable patients. Median time to progression was 2.9 months, and median survival 4 months. Toxicity was generally mild. Reversible stomatic and hand-foot syndrome WHO grade III-IV was observed in 5 and 3 patients, respectively. Haematologic toxicity and emesis were less pronounced with no grade III-IV toxicity. One patient had to discontinue treatment because of ataxia. No catheter-related toxicity and no treatment-related mortality were observed. In the present study long-term continuous infusion of 5-FU has only modest activity in terms of response rate, but the activity is comparable with other single-agent regimens. The treatment is well tolerated, with minimal toxicity making it usable in a palliative situation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Odense University Hospital, Denmark.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sørensen
authors.forename: L J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Andersen
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Hansen
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bastholt
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000964:Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007260:Infusion Pumps; D007262:Infusions, Intravenous; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010166:Palliative Care; D015996:Survival Rate
chemical_list: D000964:Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic; D005472:Fluorouracil