J Korean Cancer Assoc.  1999 Feb;31(1):120-125.

Protracted Venous Infusion of 5-Fluorouracil as a Chemotherapy in Colorectal Cancer

• Jeong HS
• Kim WS
• Jung SI
• Lee JT
• Kim KH
• Yoon SS
• Kang WK
• Lee HG
• Park KC
• Rhee PL
• Kim HJ
• Chun HK
• Park CH

Abstract

PURPOSE: The administration of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) by protracted intravenous infusion is an alternative to the bolus administration of 5-FU in patients with advanced colorectal cancers. This study was performed to evaluate the response rate and toxicities of protracted infusion of 5-FU in patients with advanced or recurrent colorectal cancers who had been treated with 5-FU by bolus or shortterm continuous administration.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Between March 1995 and June 1997, twenty-eight patients with advanced colorectal cancer previously exposed to 5-FU based chemotherapy were enrolled in this triaL Patients received 5-FU (250 mg/m(2)/day days 1-28) or 5-FU plus leucovorin (5-FU; 200 mg/m/day days 1-28, leucovorin; 20 mg/m IV days 1, 8, 15, 21) by ambulatory infusion pump. Treatment course was repeated every 42 days until disease progression. RESULT: Twenty-eight patients entered. All 28 patients were assessable for response and toxicity. Five (19%) patients achieved a partial response, with the median response duration of 15 weeks (range; 7-22 weeks), and median survival time of entire patients was 54 weeks (range 7-151+ weeks). Gastrointestinal toxicity, specifically stomatitis was a major toxicity (grade 2, 12%; grade 3, 4%), but hand-foot syndrome was less frequent (5%) compared with other trials with protracted infusion of 5-FU reported in the literature. Hematologic toxicity was generally of low grade.
CONCLUSION
Prolonged intravenous infusion of 5-FU can produce a response rate of 19% with low toxicity among patients refractory to bolus or short-term infusion of S-FU.

Keyword

Colorectal cancer; Protracted infusion; Salvage chemotherapy

MeSH Terms

Colorectal Neoplasms*
Disease Progression
Drug Therapy*
Fluorouracil*
Hand-Foot Syndrome
Humans
Infusion Pumps
Infusions, Intravenous
Leucovorin
Stomatitis
Fluorouracil
Leucovorin