Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0038362 (stomatitis)
 8,852 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) is the most commonly used drug in carcinomas of the gastrointestinal tract. However, stomatitis is one of the limiting side effects. In the present study, 18 patients with gastrointestinal cancer who experienced 5-FU-induced stomatitis in previous cycles used allopurinol mouthwashes in subsequent courses of 5-FU (500 mg of 5-FU/m2/day, i.v., over 2 h for 5 days). The degree of stomatitis diminished in 15 patients (83.3%). Allopurinol mouthwash could be used as a simple and effective method for the reduction of 5-FU-induced oral toxicity. However, further controlled trials are required.
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PMID:Treatment of 5-fluorouracil-induced stomatitis by allopurinol mouthwashes. 189 Nov 69

The EORTC Gastrointestinal Tract Cancer Cooperative Group has conducted a randomized trial of high-dose infusional 5-fluorouracil (FU) with or without Methotrexate (MTX). FU was given as a 48-horus infusion of 60 mg/kg every week x 4, biweekly x 4, and subsequently every 3 weeks. Half of the patients also received 40 mg/m2 MTX as a bolus injection just prior to the FU infusion. A total of 312 patients were randomized. High-dose infusional FU was very well tolerated with virtually no haematological, renal, hepatic or cutaneous toxicity. Nausea and vomiting occurred in 35% and diarrhea in 24% of patients but was almost never severe. Cardiac toxicity and ataxia were seen in less than 5% of patients. Methotrexate lead to a significantly higher incidence of stomatitis, which was severe in 10% of patients. Eleven percent of the high-dose infusional FU patients showed an objective response with stabilization in an additional 35%; median survival was 9.3 months. With the addition of methotrexate a 23% response rate was seen (p = 0.025) and survival was 12.5 months (n.s.). We demonstrated the favorable therapeutic index tolaribility of high-dose (60 mg/kg), short-term (48 hours), frequent (weekly-biweekly) infusional FU and the ability of low-dose MTX to positivity modulate this FU treatment.
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PMID:The EORTC GI group experience with high-dose infusional 5-FU in colorectal cancer. 922 20

Despite the long clinical history of 5-FU in gastrointestinal cancer, the development of oral agents has been a productive endeavor, and oral fluoropyrimidine agents are likely to play an important role in the management of colorectal cancer. Results of recent trials in advanced/metastatic colorectal cancer have shown equivalence of response rates, time to disease progression, and median survival and reduced rates of neutropenia and stomatitis with oral capecitabine (Xeloda) or UFT/leucovorin compared with standard fluorouracil (5-FU)/leucovorin regimens. Evaluation of these oral agents in adjuvant therapy, in combination chemotherapy, and in combination with radiation therapy is ongoing.
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PMID:Role of oral chemotherapy in colorectal cancer. 1119 16

While a sensation of thirst causes severe distress for a certain proportion of cancer patients in the terminal stage, the factors contributing to this symptom have not been established. To clarify the association between sensation of thirst and medical factors, especially dehydration, a cross-sectional observational study was performed on terminally ill cancer patients receiving inpatient hospice care. On admission to a palliative care unit, 88 consecutive patients underwent blood sampling and were requested to rate the intensity of thirst on a visual analogue scale (VAS). Physicians prospectively evaluated factors that might potentially be contributing to the symptom. The mean VAS score for thirst was 5.0+/-2.8, and 18% of the patients complained of severe thirst with a VAS score of > or = 8. No significant correlations were observed between the VAS score for thirst and the values of total protein, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, sodium, osmolality, hematocrit, atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), and biochemical dehydration defined by the levels of BUN, creatinine, sodium and osmolality. On the other hand, dehydration defined by ANP level (< or = 15 pg/ml), hyperosmolality (> or = 300 mosmol/kg), gastrointestinal cancer, survival, performance status, oral intake, vomiting, and stomatitis were significantly associated with the severity of thirst. In addition, mouth breathing and opioids were determined to be a potential clinical cause of severe thirst when a retrospective chart review was carried out. In conclusion, sensation of thirst is a frequent symptom in terminally ill cancer patients and is associated with dehydration, hyperosmolality, poor general conditions, stomatitis, oral breathing, and opioids. Careful assessments and treatment of underlying causes is important to alleviate patients' distress.
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PMID:Determinants of the sensation of thirst in terminally ill cancer patients. 1140 Oct 96