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pubmed:abstractText |
The role of chemotherapy in locally advanced or metastatic gastric cancer has been controversial, but chemotherapy has recently been shown to relieve tumor-related symptoms, improve quality of life and prolong survival when compared with best supportive care. Furthermore, palliative chemotherapy is also cost-effective. "Second-generation" combination chemotherapy regimens were developed in the 1980s with high activity in advanced or metastatic gastric cancer (EAP, FAMTX, PELF, ECF). In randomized studies, EAP demonstrated no difference in activity but a significantly higher overall toxicity and toxic death rate than FAMTX, and the ECF (epirubicin, cisplatin, 5-fluorouracil) regimen gave a survival and response advantage, tolerable toxicity, better quality of life and was more cost-effective than FAMTX.
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