Combined 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and radiation therapy following resection of locally advanced gastric carcinoma.

Twenty-five patients with locally advanced but resectable adenocarcinoma of the stomach were given concomitant postoperative radiotherapy to the tumor bed and chemotherapy with 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU). Twenty-two of the patients had regional lymph node involvement and seven had residual tumor in the surgical margins. Radiotherapy was delivered to a total dose of 5,000 rads in 7 weeks with a two-week split. 5-FU was given daily the first 3 days of each treatment period and was then continued weekly for a minimum of 1 year. At a median follow-up time of 19 months, 11 patients have relapsed, two locally and nine distally, and all have died. Thirteen patients remain alive, all but one disease-free, for a median of 21 months from diagnosis. One additional patient died of unrelated causes, free of tumor. The actuarial median survival for the whole group stands at 33 months with a projected 5-year survival of 40%. Treatment has been well tolerated.