Colorectal cancer.

Colorectal Cancer

Trial Shows Pill   is as effective as Standard Chemotherapy for Advanced Colorectal Cancer.

M. D Anderson News Realese 04/12/01.

A study led by The University of Texas M.D Anderson Cancer Center shows that a small pink tablet may offer a less toxic, more convenient option in the treatment of advanced colorectal cancer.

In th study, researchers found that oral capecitabine, also know by its trade name of Xeloda, is an acceptable option to the intravenous chemotherapy regimen of fluorouracil plus leucovorin  (5FLI/LV), a standard treatment of metastic colon cancer.

Results of the phase III trial, conducted at M. D. Anderson and sites throughout Canada and the United States, are published in the April 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology. More than 600 patients were enrolled on the trial, all with colon cancer that had spread to other organs. The oral drug, which produced a significantly higher tumor response than the intravenous chemotherapy, offers patients a much less toxic , convenient and home-based therapy.

Acoording to the study, patients experienced a significantly lower incidence of nausea, hair loss and fever, symptoms commonly associated with intravenous chemotherapy. Fewer patients taking the capacetabine required hospitalization of adverse reactions than those patients taking the 5FU plus leucovorin.

But reseachers say the trade-off for convenience is the patients must tak responsibility for taking the pills as directed and communicating regularity with their health care  team. For that reason, the pill remans an option, ramer than a new standard treatment, for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.

“The ancouraging results of trial give physicians addiotional latitude in recommending to each patient the optimal course of treatment. I is especially important to remember that this oral drug was found to be equal  to, not superior to, the intravenous chemotherapy regimen of F-5U plus leucovorin.” Said Dr. Robert Wolf, assistant professor of gastrointestinal oncology at M.D. Anderson and colon cancer specialist  who enrolled many patients on the trial. “While the oral drug is much more convenient for patients and produces fewer side effects, this treatment depends on the patients willingness and ability to take the pills as prescribed”.

In the study, patients look oral capecitabine twice daily for two weeks. The patients then look one week off  from treatment, the pills were taken approximately 12 hour aprt, with water, within 30 minutes of breakfast and dinner.

“This treatment is definitely more convenient and less toxic than the intravenous chemotherapy “, Said Dr. Wolf. “But it literally puts the treatment in the hands of the patients. It is a consideration that physicians must acknowledge when devising a treatment plan”.

According to the comparative study, tumors in approximately 25 percent of patients who took the oral capecitabine responsed, compared to 15.5 percent of patients receiving intravenous chemotherapy. Median survival was 12.5 months for the oral drug and 13.3 months for the intravenous chemotherapy , and median times to disease progression were 4.3 months for the pill and 4.7 months for intravenous chemotherapy.

According to the National Cancer Institute, colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed malignancy, accounting for the 10 to 15 perent of newly diagnosed cancer cases in the United States and Europe.  An estimed 783.000 new cases are diagnosed annually worldwide. Up to 30 percent of patients are diagnosed with metastatic disease while 50 to 60 percent eventually develop metastatic or advanced disease. The five year survival rate for advanced colon cancer is five percent or less. Xeloda is manufactured by Hoffman-La Roche 

Cáncer colon rectal

Ensayo demuestra que píldora es tan eficaz como la quimioterapia estándar para el cáncer colorrectal avanzado. M. D Anderson News Realese 04/12/01.

Un estudio dirigido por el M.D. Anderson Cancer Center de la Universidad de Texas muestra que una pequeña tableta de color rosa puede ofrecer una opción menos tóxica, más conveniente en el tratamiento del cáncer colorrectal avanzado.

En el estudio, los investigadores encontraron que la capecitabina oral, también conocido por su nombre comercial de Xeloda, es una opción aceptable para el régimen de quimioterapia intravenosa de fluorouracilo más leucovorina (5 FLI / LV), un tratamiento estándar del cáncer de colon metastásico.

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