Corticosteroid therapy of preterminal gastrointestinal cancer

Abstract

In a controlled double blind study involving 116 patients with far-advanced gastrointestinal cancer, dexamethasone at dosages of 0.75 and 1.5 mg four times daily produced improved appetite and sense of well-being in comparison to placebo treatment. This symptomatic palliation, however, was not accompanied by weight gain or improved performance status. Survival of the steroid treated patients was essentially identical to that of the placebo treated patients. Cancer 33:1607–1609, 1974.