S. Cascinu et al., THE CLINICAL IMPACT OF FEM REGIMEN (5-FLUOROURACIL, 4-EPIDOXORUBICIN AND MITOMYCIN-C) IN ADVANCED GASTRIC-CANCER PATIENTS, Anticancer research, 15(6B), 1995, pp. 2781-2783
The activity of FEM regimen in metastatic gastric cancer patients was
assessed in seventy-seven patients receiving, as palliative treatment,
5FU 600 mg/m(2) i.v. on days 1, 8, 29, 36; epiADR 70 mg/m(2) i.v. on
days 1, 29; MIT-C 10 mg/m(2) i.v. on days 1, 29. Cycles were repeated
every 58 days. One patient achieved a complete response and 12 a parti
al response, resulting in an over all response rate of 16% (95% CI: 8%
to 24%). Median remission duration was 6 months. Median survival time
for all patients was 8 months. Side-effects were mild and principally
in the form of leukopenia (three episodes grade III). Our results sup
port the recent findings about the lack of effectiveness of this regim
en. Although it is a safe and well tolerable chemotherapeutic combinat
ion, FEM regimen should not be recommended as routinary treatment for
gastric cancer patients who are not eligible for clinical trials.