Lymphatic distribution of an anti-tumor agent in postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy in gastric cancer: fat-emulsified preparation of 1-(2-tetrahydrofuryl)-5-fluorouracil in lymph.

In 8 postoperative patients with gastric cancer the effectiveness of fat emulsification of tegafur as a means of improving the drug distribution in the lymphatic tissue was studied. A water-in-oil type of emulsion of tegafur (FT-w/o) and an oil-in-water type of emulsion of tegafur (FT-o/w) were orally administered. A fistula in the thoracic duct, prepared in advance, was used to collect lymph. The concentrations of tegafur and 5-FU were compared in simultaneously obtained specimens of lymph and peripheral blood. In the case of FT-w/o, the tegafur concentration at 30-60 min after administration was significantly higher in both the lymph and plasma than that found using FT-o/w. In the case of FT-w/o, the 5-FU concentration at 30-120 min after the administration was significantly higher than that found with FT-o/w in both the lymph and the plasma. Thus, FT-w/o shows excellent distribution in both lymph and blood, and is considered useful as an adjuvant chemotherapeutic agent in the postoperative treatment of gastric cancer patients.