Clinical trials on UFT in the treatment of head and neck cancer

A new anticancer agent, UFT which is a mixture of 1-(2-tetrahydrofuryl)-5-fluorouracil and uracil in a molar ratio of 1:4 was administered orally at a dose of 600 mg/day every day. Forty-three patients were evaluable. Eight patients achieved a complete response and eight achieved a partial response with an overall response rate of 37.2%. In terms of response by histology, a response rate was 32.4% (11/34) in cases of squamous cell carcinoma and 75% (3/4) in cases of adenocarcinoma. A response rate by primary site was 57.1% in the nose and paranasal sinuses, 50.0% in the oropharynx and 30.0% in the oral cavity. A response rate was 36.1% in patients with prior treatment and 42.9% in patients with no prior treatment, but there was no statistical significance. Eight of 43 patients developed toxic effects. Most of them were mild such as anorexia, nausea, and stomatitis, but in one case of maxillary sinus carcinoma, severe bone marrow suppression was observed. UFT is a considerably effective and useful drug in the treatment of head and neck cancer. It is possible to increase cure rate by examining various usages of UFT.