Abstract
In Japan, where gastric cancer is a vastly more prevalent public health problem, mass screening has seemed to result in earlier detection and a higher cure rate.
Excellent results has also been reported at the National Cancer Center Hospital, as the ratio of 5-year survival has reached 95.3% and that of 10-year survival 93.7% for cancer with submucosal invasion.
Inspite of the development of chemotherapy, it is fact that the effects against tumors and those for long-term survival still remain unsatisfactory in scirrhous carcinoma of the stomach.
With special reference to scirrhous carcinoma in the stomach, the author will attempt to dwell on the present status and problems posed for the clinical application and assesment of chemotherapy, factors producing an impact on the effect against for longer life.
The 109 patients chosen for this analysis were all those at the National Cancer Center Hospital who had histologically and photofluorographycally prove the inoperable scirrhous carcinoma originating in the stomach.
The median survival were 10.7 months from the onset of symptoms, 5.5 months from the diagnosis and 4.8 months from the initial chemotherapy. Long-term survival in the face of inoperable scirrhous gastric cancer was quite rare: 11% of patients were alive after 1 year, 1% after 2 years. The longest survival time occurred in a 39-years-old female who was found to have involving the entire stomach without the extent of metastatic involve-ment at the time of initial chemotherapy.
The median survival was uninfluenced by the sex of patient.
Among patients less than 30 years and a high PS score were associated with death within a relatively short time. The extend of metastatic involvement at the time of initial therapy also had the anticipated relationship to survival, with a progressive decrease as the disease advanced from regional to more diffuse nodal involvement or peritoneal implantation and to involvement of liver and lung.
The most commonly employed chemotherapy in our series is combination chemotherapy such as FAMT, FT-207 and MMC that has been able to induce a long survival than any single agents.
