UFT (Tegafur and Uracil) as Postoperative Adjuvant Chemotherapy for Solid Tumors (Carcinoma of the Lung, Stomach, Colon/Rectum, and Breast): Clinical Evidence, Mechanism of Action, and Future Direction

Abstract

UFT (tegafur and uracil) is an oral anticancer drug that has been developed in Japan. Owing to its mild toxicity profile, UFT can be suitable in an adjuvant setting following a complete tumor resection, whereas its direct antitumor effect achieved may be insufficient for advanced unresectable disease. Therefore, a variety of adjuvant chemotherapy trials with UFT have been conducted, and results of well-designed randomized controlled trials have recently shown a survival benefit of postoperative UFT treatment in resected lung, gastric, colorectal, and breast cancer. In the present article, postoperative adjuvant trials with UFT-containing chemotherapy are reviewed, and the mechanism of action and future directions are also discussed.

Innate immune therapy with a Bacillus Calmette-Guérin cell wall skeleton after radical surgery for non-small cell lung cancer: A case-control study

“…2A). Tanaka 27 reported a single-institute phase II trial of adjuvant chemotherapy with carboplatin/paclitaxel followed by tegafur and uracil (UFT) for completely resected node-positive (p-stage II-N1 or IIIA-N2) NSCLC. His interim analysis revealed favorable overall and recurrence-free survival of 73% and 49%, respectively, at 3 years, with minimal toxicity.…”

Recent results of therapy for scirrhous gastric cancer

“…On the other hand, S-1 shows a potent inhibitory effect on DPD and an enhanced 5-FU concentration can be expected with S-1 administration. 30 Indeed, a large randomized trial in Japan demonstrated that oral S-1 adjuvant chemotherapy prolonged the overall survival of patients with stage II or III gastric cancer who underwent a gastrectomy with an extended (D2) lymph node dissection. 31 However, this trial did not show whether the adjuvant chemotherapy is useful for patients with SGC.…”

Molecular Basis for the Induction of an Angiogenesis Inhibitor, Thrombospondin-1, by 5-Fluorouracil

“…Recent clinical studies have shown that UFT (a prodrug of 5-FU, Tegafur, combined with uracil in a 1:4 molar ratio) is an active oral chemotherapeutic agent in postoperative adjuvant settings for completely resected early-stage lung, gastric, colorectal, and breast cancer that does not exhibit any remarkable toxicity (2). UFT can achieve a higher maximum plasma 5-FU level for a longer period by inhibiting 5-FU degradation, thereby enhancing its antitumor effect (3).…”