[Cisplatin plus 5-fluorouracil combination therapy in the treatment of advanced esophageal cancer: a report of 156 cases].
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the results of combination chemotherapy with cisplatin (DDP) plus 5-fluorouracil(5-FU) in the treatment of advanced esophageal cancer.


METHODS
From 1988 through 1997, 156 patients with advanced esophageal cancer were enrolled in this study. The median age of the patients was 60. Squamous-cell cancer was the most common type of malignancy. All but 16 patients received no previous chemotherapy.


RESULTS
Complete response was observed in 26 patients and partial response in 71 patients, with an overall response rate of 62.2%. The response appeared to correlate with dose intensity, as 65.7% response rate was achieved with a dose of DDP 75-100 mg/m2 versus 43.7% response rate with DDP 50-70 mg/m2. The median response duration was 4.5 months and the median survival period was 8.2 months. Nausea/vomiting, neutropenia and phlebitis were the main adverse reactions in all treated cases.


CONCLUSIONS
A high response rate was obtained in advanced esophageal cancer treated by DDP plus 5-FU with tolerable toxicity.
Wang
L
L
Henan Staff Medical College, Zhengzhou 450003.
Li
X
X
Wang
R
R
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002945:Cisplatin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality; D005260:Female; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000008:administration & dosage; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
D002945:Cisplatin; D005472:Fluorouracil