The prognosis of unresectable advanced
gastric cancer patients, especially with wide-spread
metastasis in the peritoneal cavity, is very poor. In such cases, only a few treatment methods are available, and
chemotherapy as a systemic
therapy is often selected. We recently devised an experimental model for wide-spread
metastasis in the peritoneal cavity of
gastrointestinal cancer, by intraperitoneally implanting colon 26 murine
carcinoma PMF-15 cells. When the control mice were autopsied, a number of
tumor nodules were formed in their mesenterium, pancreas, liver, etc. and pools of
ascites were also occasionally seen. Using this model, oral UFT (combining
tegafur and
uracil at a molar ratio of 1:4) plus
cisplatin (UFTP regimen) prolonged the survival of mice and maintained these mice in relatively better condition than with continuous infusion of
5-fluorouracil plus
cisplatin (FP regimen). Since UFT can be used orally, patients receiving UFTP
therapy are not required to stay in a hospital for long periods, but rather, are intermittently hospitalized for short periods of time. Better QOL and prolonged survival highlight the potential clinical usefulness of the UFTP
therapy.