Fudr as an adjuvant to surgery in cancer of the large bowel

In a controlled trial the Veterans Administration Surgical Adjuvant Group studied 735 patients with carcinoma of the large bowel in an effort to determine the possible benefits of using FUDR as an adjuvant to surgical resection. Patients randomized to treatment received a reduced course of the drug on the first, second, and third postoperative days, and a second standard therapeutic course approximately six weeks later. There was no significant difference in postoperative complications or 30 day mortality. The second course of chemotherapy was an apparent contributory factor in the death of six patients. Long term follow‐up studies showed no difference in survival between patients receiving the drug and those treated by surgery alone.