[Effects of intravenous feeding on adjuvant chemotherapy--an experimental study on the distribution of 5-FU after injection of tegafur (1)].

Forty-eight male Donryu rats inoculated with Sato lung cancer were used to experimentally determine the effects of intravenous feeding on the concentrations of the chemotherapeutic agents FT-207 and 5-FU in the blood, as well as in the liver and tumorigenic tissue. Following FT-207 administration, the blood, tumor and liver tissue levels were lower than in the IVH group (oral administration). The liver 5-FU concentration, at 0.10 +/- 0.02 microgram/g, was significantly higher in the intravenous feeding group than in the p.o. group (0.05 +/- 0.01 micrograms/g). The 5-FU blood concentration rose quickly, reaching 0.051 +/- 0.013 micrograms/ml and 0.035 +/- 0.004 micrograms/ml at 9 and 12 hours, respectively, following treatment. This was significantly higher than in the p.o. group, which showed corresponding levels of 0.031 +/- 0.004 microgram/ml and 0.022 +/- 0.002 microgram/ml, respectively. The increase in the 5-FU level within the tumor was markedly high in the IVH group compared to the p.o. group, and it peaked at 9 hours following administration. The concentration in the IVH group was thus higher than in the p.o. group at any given time. At 24 hours after treatment, the IVH group level was 0.35 +/- 0.09 microgram/g, against 0.27 +/- 0.05 microgram/g in the p.o. group. The blood concentration of 5-FU following intravenous feeding maintained a high value for a long time, and the 5-FU tumor concentration also remained at a high level. The intravenous route was therefore considered to be advantageous for antitumor chemotherapy.