NEOADJUVANT CHEMOTHERAPY IN LOCALLY ADVANCED GASTRIC-CANCER - PRELIMINARY-RESULTS OF A PHASE-II TRIAL WITH A MODIFIED FAMTX COMBINATION

Twenty-two patients with locally advanced inoperable gastric cancer re ceived neoadjuvant chemotherapy with a modified 5-fluorouracil, doxoru bicin, methotrexate (FAMTX) regimen. The patients who achieved at leas t a stable disease were considered eligible for surgery with curative intent, which was performed in 19 cases. 16 patients (all responsive t o neoadjuvant chemotherapy) were rendered disease-free by the combined approach. No treatment-related deaths occurred; grade III leukopenia was observed in only 3 cases. The preliminary results of this study in dicate the feasibility of our treatment approach; randomized trials ar e awaited to properly evaluate the role of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in locally advanced gastric cancer.