Comparison of intramural 5-fluorouracil and more conventional routes of drug administration on concentrations in gastric regional lymph nodes: a potential for trans-endoscopic adjuvant chemotherapy.

Intramural injection of 20 muCi (2-14C) 5-fluorouacil (5-FU) into the gastric submucosa of dogs and baboons was employed to evaluate the kinetics of 5-FU distribution following this route of administration and to compare these results with those following intraluminal, intravenous, and local intraarterial injections. Measurements of radioactivity taken over a six-hour period after injections demonstrated that the greatest concentration of isotope in samples of gastric wall and perigastric lymph nodes was found after administration of the drug directly into the stomach wall. Clinical application of intramural injections of 5-FU into the stomach wall under direct gastroscopic visual control, may be worthy of trial in patients with gastric cancer.