Tegafur-uracil (UFT) plus folinic acid in advanced rectal cancer

We previously reported positive results to Tegafur-Uracil (UFT) chemotherapy in a group of patients with advanced rectal cancer. We have continued the study and now report the effectiveness of UFT plus folinic acid (FA) in 52 patients with advanced rectal cancer. The therapeutic schedule was UFT, 600 mg/m2/day x 14 days p.o. + FA, 90 mg/m2/day x 14 days p.o. Fifty-two out of a total of 56 patients were evaluated for response and toxicity. A higher incidence of positive responses in patients without previous chemotherapy was appreciated. Twenty-one of the 52 evaluated patients showed a partial response (PR). Responses were strongly correlated with previous chemotherapy (14/20; 70% PR of cases without previous chemotherapy vs 7/32; 22% of cases with previous chemotherapy). All responding patients came forward with a median time to progression of 8.2 months (19.6 months for patients without previous chemotherapy vs 7.7 months for patients with previous chemotherapy, P < 0.01). We concluded that the UFT plus FA could be a treatment of choice for patients with advanced rectal cancer.