COMBINED 5-FLUOROURACIL AND SUPERVOLTAGE RADIATION THERAPY OF LOCALLY UNRESECTABLE GASTROINTESTINAL CANCER.

Abstract A prospective, controlled double-blind study involving a substantial number of patients suggests that 5-fluorouracil (5-F.U.) significantly augments the effectiveness of radiation therapy for locally unresectable carcinoma of the stomach, pancreas, and large bowel. It is also possible that rarely this therapy may be curative. This approach should not be advocated as routine treatment since the vast majority of these patients still die of their cancer; and, if the present results are not spurious, the method offers only a few extra months of life. These results should, however, serve as stimulus and foundation for continued study of augmented radiation therapy in the treatment of advanced gastrointestinal cancer.