Clinical evaluation of prolonged chemotherapy combined with induction of hepatic drug-metabolizing enzymes as an adjuvant for treating patients with gastric cancer

A clinical trial of a protracted adjuvant cancer chemotherapy was carried out on 207 patients with operable gastric cancer, from April, 1977, in the First Department of Surgery, Chiba University Hospital and two closely related hospitals. These patients were given intravenously 0.4 mg/kg and 0.2 mg/kg of mitomycin C on the day of operation and the next day, respectively, and then 16 mg/kg intravenously of Futraful (FT-207) daily from the 10th postoperative day until discharge, followed by oral administration of FT-207, 12 mg/kg, for 24 to 36 months after discharge. Two mg/kg of phenobarbital and 30 mg/kg of glutathione were administered randomly to half the number of patients (induction group) to induce hepatic drug-metabolizing enzymes. Significantly higher levels of serum 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) released from FT-207 were found in the induction group than in the controls. Five-year overall survival rates in the induction and control groups revealed no difference. However, the survival rates in Stage III patients in the induction group were significantly superior in the 3–5 postoperative years, compared to those in the Statge III of the control group, while Stage I, II and IV patients apparently received no benefit from this induction treatment.