Improvement of QOL and prognosis by treatment of superfine dispersed lentinan in patients with advanced gastric cancer.
OBJECTIVE
Intravenous lentinan administration has life prolongation effect for gastric cancer patients when combined with chemotherapy. Recently, superfine dispersed lentinan--an oral formulation--has become clinically available. In order to evaluate the efficacy of superfine dispersed lentinan, was conducted multicenter clinical study.


METHODS
Twenty-seven patients with unresectable or recurrent gastric cancer were enrolled and answered the quality of life questionnaire before and 4, 8, and 12 weeks after the initiation of superfine dispersed lentinan administration. Survival times were evaluated according to results of 3-year follow-up survey.


RESULTS
There was no adverse event with causal relation to superfine dispersed lentinan. Median survival time was 17.1 months (95% confidence interval: 6.9-25.9 months) in 26 eligible patients. Six (23%) out of 26 patients were alive longer than 3 years. There was a significant correlation between the quality of life scores at 12 weeks of superfine dispersed lentinan treatment and survival times.


CONCLUSIONS
Superfine dispersed lentinan is deemed free of anything harmful. Quality of life status at 12 weeks of superfine dispersed lentinan treatment appears to be a promising prognostic predictor.
Yoshino
Shigefumi
S
Department of Surgery II, Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine, Yamaguchi, Japan.
Watanabe
Seiji
S
Imano
Motohiro
M
Suga
Tetsuya
T
Nakazawa
Saburo
S
Hazama
Shoichi
S
Oka
Masaaki
M
D000284:Administration, Oral; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007912:Lentinan / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010316:Particle Size; D011788:Quality of Life; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D007912:Lentinan