Escalating dose of tegafur combined with oral etoposide in metastatic gastric carcinoma.

Fifteen patients with advanced gastric cancer received orally etoposide 100 mg daily for 14 days and escalating doses of tegafur. The starting dose was 400 mg daily. The maximum tolerated dose of tegafur was identified at 850 mg daily. Unacceptable toxicity was seen at 1000 mg, and consisted of diarrhea, stomatitis and leukopenia. Two partial responses were seen at 800 mg daily. In conclusion, our data show that etoposide and tegafur can be safely administered in combination by the oral route.