[Two elderly patients with advanced gastric cancer responding to chronomodulation chemotherapy with tegafur + cisplatin + isovorin followed by oral administration of S-1].

Recently, as society ages there have become more elderly gastric cancer patients with/without several complications(cerebrovascular diseases, cardiac diseases, atherosclerosis, DM, etc.), that were non-resected and require highly effective chemotherapy and good QOL. We report two elderly gastric cancer patients responding to chronomodulation chemotherapy (tegafur + cisplatin + Isovorin) based on circadian rhythms plus a new antitumor drug, S-1. The treatment protocol was tegafur 800 mg/body, days 1-7 (continuing 16 h, intravenously with 500 mg/body from 16 to 0 h, 300 mg/body from 0-8 h, for non-uniform administration), cisplatin 10 mg/body, days 1-5, (16 h), Isovorin 25 mg/body, days 1-5, (16 h, oneshot infusion, for 4 courses followed by a week rest. Next was S-1 120 mg/body x 2 times orally for 28 days, followed by 2 weeks rest, the administered for another 28 days. The first patient was 74 years of age, with advanced type 3 plus early type IIc gastric cancers with liver metastasis (H1). After chemotherapy the liver metastasis disappeared, there was a 70% reduction in the advanced cancer and the early cancer disappeared. The second patient was 84 years of age, with advanced type 3 gastric cancer invading the esophagus. After chemotherapy, the primary lesion was reduced 80% and the esophageal invasion mass shrunk. The only adverse effect was grade 2 pancytopenia. In conclusion this regimen resulted in good intrachemotherapeutic QOL and highly effective performance in elderly advanced gastric cancer patient.