Chemotherapy of gastric and pancreatic carcinoma: a controlled evaluation of combinations of 5-fluorouracil with nitrosoureas and "lactones".

Abstract

By random assignment a total of 176 eligible patients with advanced nonmeasurable pancreatic carcinoma were treated with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) either alone or in combination with a nitrosourea (streptozotocin), in combination with a "lactone" (spironolactone), or in combination with both. By random assignment a total of 179 patients with advanced nonmeasurable gastric carcinoma were treated with 5-FU either alone or in combination with a nitrosourea (methyl CCNU), in combination with a lactone (testolactone), or in combination with both. The median survival period for all pancreatic carcinoma patients was 17 weeks, and for all gastric carcinoma patients 30 weeks. The addition of the nitrosoureas or the lactones or a combination of both produced no improvement in length of patient survival for either primary carcinoma when compared to treatment with 5-FU alone.