Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology, Vol 28, Issue 1 16-19, Copyright © 1998 by Foundation for Promotion of Cancer Research
WS Wang, PM Chen, TJ Chiou, JH Liu, JK Lin, TC Lin, WS Chen, JK Jiang, CC Yen, FS Fan and RK Hsieh
Between January 1994 and November 1995, 41 patients with metastatic
colorectal carcinoma were enrolled in this study. All these patients had
recurrent disease after a prior 5-fluorouracil based adjuvant chemotherapy
or failed to achieve response by prior chemotherapy that included
5-fluorouracil. 5-Fluorouracil, 2600 mg/m2, was administered concurrently
with 100 mg/m2 leucovorin over 24 hours of continuous intravenous infusion.
The treatment was repeated every week until progressive disease was
documented. Forty-one patients received a total of 810 courses of
treatment. The overall response rate was 17.1% (95% confidence interval
5.6-28.6%). In two patients who achieved complete response, the liver was
the metastatic site. The median survival was 18.4 months for responders and
12.6 months for non-responders. Gastrointestinal toxicities including
diarrhea, stomatitis, nausea and vomiting were the major side-effects.
Sixteen incidences (39.0%) of grade 2-3 gastrointestinal toxicities were
observed. One patient (2.4%) developed a grade 3 cardiac toxicity, and
another one (2.4%) had a grade 2 neurotoxicity. Hematological toxicities
were minimal with no evidence of severe (grade 2 or more) leukopenia or
thrombocytopenia. We conclude that in patients with pretreated metastatic
colorectal cancer, weekly 24-hour infusion of high-dose 5-fluorouracil and
leucovorin is associated with higher efficacy and tolerable toxicity. This
regimen is a good option as a second-line treatment for those whose
diseases are recurrent from or refractory to prior 5-fluorouracil, and
deserves a longer period of follow-up.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Weekly 24-hour infusion of high-dose 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin in patients with advanced colorectal cancer: Taiwan experience
Department of Medicine, Veterans General Hospital-Taipei, Taiwan.
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