GASTRIC-CANCER ASSOCIATED WITH ACUTE DISSEMINATED INTRAVASCULAR COAGULATION - SUCCESSFUL INITIAL TREATMENT WITH WEEKLY 24-HOUR INFUSION OF HIGH-DOSE 5-FLUOROURACIL AND LEUCOVORIN

Acute disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIG) is a severe complic ation of gastric adenocarcinoma, and most of the patients die within 1 -3 weeks. We have treated five such patients with an empirical non-mye losuppressive HDFL regimen (weekly 24h infusion of high-dose 5-fluorou racil 2600 mg/m(2) and leucovorin 300 mg/m(2)). Within 2 weeks of star ting the treatment the clinical and laboratory evidence of acute DIC q uickly resolved in all five patients, HDFL not only caused no further myelosuppression, but also resulted in normalization of the patient's haemogram within a few weeks, Other anti-cancer drugs could then be sa fely added. Three patients had a survival time of more than 6 months, We suggest that HDFL is an ideal initial treatment for gastric cancer complicated by acute DIC.