Clinical research of intraperitoneal implantation of sustained-release 5-fluorouracil in advanced colorectal cancer

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to investigate the safety and long-term clinical effect of intraperitoneal implantation of sustained-release 5-fluorouracil in patients with advanced colorectal cancer during radical resection. METHODS: A total of 202 patients with advanced colorectal cancer undergoing radical operations were randomly divided into an experimental group (98 cases, intraoperative intraperitoneal implantation of sustained-release 5-fluorouracil 600 mg as local chemotherapy) and a control group (104 cases, without local chemotherapy). The clinical data of the two groups was compared including toxicity, complications, local recurrence rate, distant metastasis, disease-free survival, and 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates. RESULTS: Both groups of patients were followed up for more than 5 years, the longest follow-up time was 7.5 years. Bone marrow suppression, hepato-renal function, postoperative anastomotic leakage, pelvic effusion, incision infection, the incidence of intestinal obstruction, venting time, and hospital stay after operation (days) between two groups had no statistical significant difference. Locoregional recurrence and liver metastasis rate were decreased significantly in experimental group (P = 0.04 and 0.04). Extensive peritoneal metastasis and other organ metastasis rates had no significant difference between two groups. In the experimental group, 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates were higher than in the control group (95.92 vs 87.50 %, 77.55 vs 64.42 %, and 56.12 vs 40.38 %), which had significant difference. Disease-free survival (DFS) of the experimental group was higher than that of the control group (χ(2) = 5.00, P = 0.025). CONCLUSIONS: Intraperitoneal implantation of sustained-release 5-fluorouracil is safe for advanced colorectal cancer during radical resection, which can reduce locoregional recurrence rate and liver metastasis rate. The long-term efficacy was reliable, and long-term survival and disease-free survival rate can be improved.