Abstract |
In metastatic colorectal and other locally advanced gastrointestinal cancers, the mechanisms of tumor growth and/or immune escape by residual cancer cells after curative resection often provoke tumor recurrence. Current adjuvant therapy is based on pharmacological administration up to 6-8 months after surgery. We hypothesized that the long-term, cytostatic action from repeated post-adjuvant administration of 5-fluorouracil (FU)- leucovorin (LV) cycles, as a result of the downregulation of the above-mentioned cellular mechanisms, could halt tumor progression. An active prospective cohort, including 19 patients (study group) at high risk of relapse, was considered. All patients received repeated post-adjuvant administration of 5-FU-LV cycles for up to 52-60 months following curative surgery (total cumulative dose of about 90 g and mean follow-up of 70.6 ± 49.7 months). The 5-year disease-free interval (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were 80.4 ± 10.2% and 87.1 ± 8.6%, respectively, which is very different from the recent literature that has reported 5-year DFS and OS values of 31.8% and 40.1%, respectively. These findings suggest that this new pharmacological approach based on the long-term maintenance of a cytostatic effect with 5-FU-LV can produce a relevant improvement in the outcome of this population.
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Authors | Andrea Nicolini, Massimo Conte, Giuseppe Rossi, Paola Ferrari, Angelo Carpi, Paolo Miccoli |
Journal | Tumour biology : the journal of the International Society for Oncodevelopmental Biology and Medicine
(Tumour Biol)
Vol. 31
Issue 5
Pg. 523-32
(Oct 2010)
ISSN: 1423-0380 [Electronic] Netherlands |
PMID | 20589491
(Publication Type: Clinical Trial, Journal Article)
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Chemical References |
- Cytostatic Agents
- Leucovorin
- Fluorouracil
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Topics |
- Aged
- Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols
(therapeutic use)
- Chemotherapy, Adjuvant
- Combined Modality Therapy
- Cytostatic Agents
(therapeutic use)
- Digestive System Surgical Procedures
- Disease-Free Survival
- Female
- Fluorouracil
(administration & dosage)
- Gastrointestinal Neoplasms
(drug therapy, mortality, pathology)
- Humans
- Kaplan-Meier Estimate
- Leucovorin
(administration & dosage)
- Male
- Middle Aged
- Neoplasm Recurrence, Local
(prevention & control)
- Neoplasm Staging
- Treatment Outcome
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