Five-FU is a potent chemotherapeutic agent for suppressing
endothelial cell growth. The purpose of this study was to investigate the usefulness of local peritumor
injection of
5-FU for
patients with advanced
gastric cancer (AGC) for the prevention of
anemia. Between January 2020 and January 2022,
patients aged 18 years or older with AGC and moderate
anemia were included. A total of 200 mg of
5-FU was injected per session at ten points of the lesion (20 mg at each point) every 7 days for 4 to 12 weeks.
Patients received a
blood test for
toxicity at every cycle. From one of these
patients, endoscopic
biopsy specimens were taken from
gastric cancer before and after injecting
5-FU for immunostaining. A total of five AGC
patients participated in this study. For most
patients,
hemoglobin levels were maintained without transfusions during
5-FU injection, and expression levels of
thrombospondin-1 was increased after
injection compared to those before
injection.
Blood test results during
5-FU injection showed no significant change in
serum glutamic oxalacetic
transaminase/
glutamic pyruvic transaminase, total
bilirubin, or
creatinine level. The results of this study showed the possibility of local peritumor
5-FU injection as a
treatment for relieving
anemia of
patients with
gastric cancer.