II. - 5-Fluorouracil, twenty-five years later. An appraisal

The second part of this review will analyze the results achieved by treatment with 5-fluorouracil alone or in combination regimens in stomach, pancreas, liver, breast, lung, ovary and cervix carcinomas. Attention will also be focused on particular therapeutic modalities such as loco-regional perfusion of liver, primary and metastatic neoplasms, and combined radiochemotherapeutic management of pancreatic carcinoma. From this review, it appears that 5-fluorouracil as a single agent still represents the standard treatment for large bowel cancer and is a basic component of the combination regimens which provide increasingly successful control for the majority of solid tumors. As there is evidence that proper scheduling of the drug, which produces a mild toxicity, is required to achieve the best results at least in some instances, further research on possible ways to enhance 5-Fu activity and reduce drug-induced toxicity is warranted.