A new combination chemotherapy with cis-diammine-glycolatoplatinum (Nedaplatin) and 5-fluorouracil for advanced esophageal cancers

Objective The efficacy of a new chemotherapeutic combination consisting of Cis-diammine-glycolatoplatinum (Nedaplatin), a derivative of cisplatin (CDD P), and 5-fluorouracil (5FU) was evaluated in patients with advanced esopha geal carcinomas. Methods Nedaplatin was administered at a dose of 80 or 100 mg/m(2) with 500 ml of saline by slow drip infusion for 120 minutes on day 1, 5FU at a dose of 350 or 500 mg/m(2) was mixed with 1,000 ml of saline a nd administered by continuous infusion for 24 hours on days 1 to 5, Patient s or Materials This combination chemotherapy was tried in 17 patients with metastatic, recurrent, or bulky unresectable esophageal cancers. Of these, 15 evaluable patients received at least two courses of chemotherapy, Result s The response rates in assessable and ail patients were 60% and 52.9%, res pectively. Cases with lymph node and liver metastases, as well as primary l esions, showed excellent response to the therapy with positive response rat es of 54.5% (6/11), 100% (5/5) and 58.4% (7/12), respectively. The median r esponse duration was 7 (range 3 to 37+) months for patients who achieved a partial response, Adverse drug reactions were limited to three cases of gra de 3 toxicity, including allergy, and decreased hemoglobin and platelets, w hich were well tolerated by the patients. Conclusion The present study thus indicated the combination chemotherapy of Nedaplatin and 5FU to be safe an d efficacious for advanced esophageal cancer, Further investigations are cl early warranted.