title: Randomized phase III trial of cisplatin, epirubicin, leucovorin, 5-fluorouracil (PELF) combination versus 5-fluorouracil alone as adjuvant chemotherapy in curative resected stage III gastric cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The combination of cisplatin, epirubicin, leucovorin and 5-fluorouracil (PELF) administration, as adjuvant chemotherapy after curative resection for gastric cancer, was compared with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) administration alone. This paper reports the results of a prospective randomized comparison of the two regimens, PELF and 5-FU.
  
  
  METHODS
  From August 1996 to July 1999, 54 patients were selected subsequent to being diagnosed with stage III cancer after a curative resection for gastric cancer. The patients were stratified according to stage IIIA/IIIB and subtotal/total gastrectomy, and then they were randomized into each treatment group, i.e. the PELF or 5-FU alone groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  54 assessable patients were enrolled in this study: 28 received PELF and 26 received 5-FU alone. 12 patients relapsed in each group and the median follow-up duration was 42 months (range: 10 approximately 77 months). The overall survival rate and disease-free survival rate (DFS) were not significantly different between two groups, (5-year survival of PELF vs. 5-FU: 57% vs. 64%, 5-year DFS: 54% vs. 51%). The PELF combination was more toxic in terms of anemia, anorexia, nausea and diarrhea than the 5-FU.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study showed that the PELF combination, as an adjuvant therapy for gastric cancer after a curative resection, was a less effective treatment, and it had more toxic effects than the 5-FU.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jae Jin
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Si-Young
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Im Sik
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Kyung Sam
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Hoong-Zae
authors.initials: HZ
authors.lastname: Joo
authors.forename: Choong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yoon
authors.forename: Yoon Wha
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Hwi Joong
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Yoon
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