[Results of chemotherapy using new anti-cancer drugs since S-1 for advanced or recurrent gastric cancer in our institute].

In many medical institutes the treatment for advanced (not resectable or radical grade C) or recurrent gastric cancer seems to be based on a regional perspective or prognostic restriction, and rarely on large-scale clinical studies; instead the selection is based on effective cases reported in the literature or on own.s own. In the current situation, chemotherapy using new anti-cancer drugs since S-1 has actually appeared to improve the prognosis or to maintain better QOL. We examined 46 cases (28 advanced (not resectable or radical grade C) cases and 18 recurrent cases after curative operation) during the period from January 2001 to December 2005. In 27 chemotherapy cases (1-year survival 52.5%, 2-year survival 31.5%, 3-year survival 19.5%, and MST=344 day), the survival time was significantly extended compared to 19 cases without chemotherapy (1-year survival 10.5% and MST=102 day) (p<0.0001). In the 27 chemotherapy cases, between 5 performance status (PS) 0 cases and 8 PS 1 cases, there was no significant difference in survival. But in 12 PS 2 cases, survival was significantly shorter smaller than that of PS 0 or PS 1 cases (p<0.05, p<0.001). Also, the period in the hospital during survival time of 6 cases, 2-year survival or more, was significantly shorter than that of 10 less than 1-year survival cases treated with chemotherapy. These findings led us to conclude that chemotherapy using new anti-cancer drug since S-1 showed excellent QOL in addition to longer survival benefits at the present time, when a standard treatment for to advanced or recurrent gastric cancer has not yet been established. It seemed that prognostic improvement by maintaining further excellent QOL could be expected if standard treatments based on the results of large-scale clinical studies were established.