
clinical experience with palliation
of metastatic adenocarcinoma with
5-fluorouracil chemotherapy
chemotherapy of solid tumors is becoming a
more and more helpful therapeutic tool.  it
is probable that within a few years chemother-
apy will become firmly established as an ad-
junct to the primary treatment of solid tumors.
perhaps someday a cancerocidal chemical will
be devised that can actually act as antibiotics
do on bacteria.  for this reason it is important
for all surgeons interested in the treatment of
cancer to try to keep abreast of the recent ad-
vances in the field of chemotherapy.  surgeons
should also begin to use some of the technics for
palliation of incurable patients so that when
these drugs are added to the armamentarium of
primary treatment of cancer, they will be
familiar with the various technics and the mode
of actions of the drugs.
5-fluorouracil (5-fu) has had extensive clin-
ical use and has produced significant palliation
in breast and colon cancers with about a third
of these patients receiving palliation for five to
six months.
