Confirmed activity of FAM polychemotherapy in advanced gastric carcinoma.

During a 3-year period at our hospital, 54 consecutively observed patients with parametric, locally advanced, metastatic gastric carcinoma were treated with fluorouracil + adriamycin + mitomycin C. Of 47 evaluable patients, 44.6% had an objective response (complete + partial response) and 29.7% had stabilized disease. The median duration of response was 7.5 months. The median survival was 8.9 months for all patients. In particular, the survival of responders (greater than 12 months) and of patients with stabilized disease (8.6 months) was significantly longer than that of patients with progressive disease (4.5 months). Toxicity was limited and reversible, which allowed treatment also of patients in poor general condition (PS 3-4 of the Zubrod scale).