Analysis of a prospectively randomized comparison of doxorubicin versus 5-fluorouracil, doxorubicin, and BCNU in advanced gastric cancer: implications for future studies.

A multi-institutional cooperative study of patients with locally advanced, recurrent, or metastatic gastric adenocarcinoma who had not previously received chemotherapy was conducted, prospectively randomizing patients to receive either doxorubicin or the three-drug combination, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), doxorubicin (Adriamycin; Adria Laboratories, Columbus, Ohio), and BCNU (FAB). The 187 evaluable patients were initially stratified according to the presence of measurable or evaluable disease and performance status. There was a significantly higher response rate observed for FAB (40%) compared with doxorubicin (13%) among the 145 measurable-disease patients. Duration of response and survival were significantly longer for FAB in the measurable-disease group, but for the total patient population an early advantage for FAB in time to disease progression and survival was lost with continued follow-up. Median survival was 33 weeks for patients receiving FAB and 19 weeks for those receiving doxorubicin. Significant...