Background: A joint study was performed by the Tokai HCFU study group, which included seven institutions, to examine the value of oral administration of Carmofur (HCFU), a 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) derivative, for postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with colorectal cancer undergoing curative resection.
Methods: The patients were divided into two groups, a control group receiving no HCFU and a group administered HCFU for 1 year, using a centralized registration system by telephone. Among 173 patients entered into this study, 159 evaluable cases were analyzed for evaluation of the drug.
Results: The cumulative 5-year disease-free rate of patients who received HCFU was significantly increased compared with the control group. In particular, the rate was much higher in patients with colon cancer. No severe side effects arose from adjuvant chemotherapy with HCFU.
Conclusion: Adjuvant chemotherapy with oral HCFU appears to provide a useful and safe postoperative treatment.