Treatment of advanced measurable gastric carcinoma with 5-fluorouracil, adriamycin, and BCNU

61 patients with advanced measurable gastric carcinoma were treated with 5-fluorouracil, adriamycin and BCNU (FAB). Of 50 evaluable patients, 48% achieved a response (3 complete and 21 partial responses), and 24% experienced disease stabilization. The median duration of response was 9 months, and median survival of all patients was 7 months. Responding patients survived significantly longer than nonresponders (p less than 0.001). Toxicity was generally mild to moderate, rarely requiring dose reduction or prolongation of treatment intervals. These results indicate that FAB regimen is an active combination in metastatic or locally advanced gastric cancer, and can be used as first-line treatment in patients with this disease.