Long-term postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy of UFT/LV improves survival in a primary tumor resection-pulmonary metastasis model.
BACKGROUND
The optimum regimen and optimum duration of administration of postoperative chemotherapy would vary with the postoperative residual tumor volume. Whether or not prolonged administration of oral uracil/tegafur (UFT) with leucovorin (LV) would prolong the survival period was assessed experimentally.


METHODS
Murine models of pulmonary metastasis with different volumes of residual tumor after primary tumor resection were prepared, and the efficacy of 12-week and 4-week oral administration of UFT/LV as postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy was compared.


RESULTS
In the model with only a small volume of occult residual tumor after early resection of the primary tumor, the survival period in the 12-week UFT/LV group was significantly increased as compared with that in the untreated group, whereas no significant difference was noted between the 4-week UFT/LV group and the untreated group.


CONCLUSIONS
Long-term administration of UFT/LV as postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy may be potentially beneficial.
Sadahiro
Sotaro
S
Department of Surgery, Tokai University, Japan. sadahiro@is.icc.utokai.ac.jp
Suzuki
Toshiyuki
T
Maeda
Yuji
Y
Tanaka
Akira
A
Makuuchi
Hiroyasu
H
Kamijo
Akemi
A
Murayama
Chieko
C