[Dose intensity in cancer chemotherapy in gastric cancer]

Dose intensity in cancer chemotherapy proposed by Green (1980) and Hryniuk (1984) is a concept of expressing treatments in terms of how much drug is given per unit time (mg/m2/week). It is expected that the dose intensity may clear dose-response relationships which are sometimes obscure in cancer chemotherapy because dose reduction or treatment delay caused by adverse effects. Good correlations between dose intensity and prognosis of cancer patients are observed in breast, lung, ovarian cancer and malignant lymphoma. But only few trials using dose intensity concepts have been performed in chemotherapy for gastric cancer. A randomized controlled trial targeted for dose intensity itself will be necessary to confirm the usefulness of dose intensity concepts.