PROLONGED 5-FLUOROURACIL INFUSION IN PATIENTS WITH METASTATIC COLON-CANCER PRETREATED WITH BOLUS SCHEDULE OF THE SAME AGENT

5-Fluorouracil (5FU) is the most important drug in the treatment or ga strointestinal cancer. 5FU can be administered by bolus or continuous infusion. It seems that continuous infusion is capable of producing re sponses in patients pretreated with bolus of the same drug. To overcom e drug resistance in matastatic colon cancer ptients, we have administ ered (via programmable pump) 5FU by prolonged infusion with doses of 2 50 mg/m(2)/die for six weeks with a one week rest period. Twenty-one p atients with disease progression following bolus 5FU leucovorin were e nrolled. The treatment was well tolerated with mucositis (grade I-II) in five patients and hand-foot syndrome in four, these side effects we re managed with brief interruption of the infusion. Four partial respo nses and six stable disease were obtained. Two patients are alive afte r 14 months. The data of this study suggest that it is possible to ove rcome acquired 5FU bolus resistance by use of different schedules of t he same drug.