title: Prognostic effects of oral anti-cancer drugs as adjuvant chemotherapy for 2 years after gastric cancer surgery.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We conducted this retrospective study to evaluate the effectiveness of giving oral anti-cancer drugs for 2 years as postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy to gastric cancer patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  The subjects were 76 patients with stage II and III gastric cancer, who underwent curative surgery between 1989 and 2008. We divided the 20 years chronologically into the UFT term (1989-2003) and the S-1 term (2004-2008). The patients from each term were then divided into three groups according to the length of drug administration; namely, the surgery alone group, the 1-year group, and the 2-year group.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The survival time of the 2-year group was better than that of the surgery alone group, not only in the UFT term, but also in the S-1 term (P = 0.0224). Longer relapse-free survival was evident in the S-1 term, especially for the 2-year group (P = 0.0110). A multivariate analysis showed both the stage of the cancer and 2 years of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy to be independent factors predictive of prolonged survival (P = 0.0040 and P = 0.0022, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The 2-year administration of oral anti-cancer drugs as postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy might improve the outcome of stage II, III gastric cancer patients. Randomized control trials are warranted to prove the effectiveness of this 2-year regimen.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Fukuoka City Hospital, 13-1 Yoshizuka-honmachi, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka, 812-0046, Japan. okuyama929@yahoo.co.jp
authors.forename: Toshiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Okuyama
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Korenaga
authors.forename: Ai
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Edagawa
authors.forename: Shinji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Itoh
authors.forename: Eiji
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Oki
authors.forename: Hirofumi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kawanaka
authors.forename: Yasuharu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ikeda
authors.forename: Yoshihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kakeji
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tateishi
authors.forename: Shunichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tsujitani
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takenaka
authors.forename: Yoshihiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Maehara
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000964:Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D004338:Drug Combinations; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005743:Gastrectomy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010094:Oxonic Acid / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D016019:Survival Analysis; D005641:Tegafur / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014498:Uracil / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D000964:Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic; D004338:Drug Combinations; C079198:S 1 (combination); D005641:Tegafur; D014498:Uracil; D010094:Oxonic Acid