Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Scalamogna, R.
• Brugnatelli, S.
• Tinelli, C.
• Sagrada, P.
• Gattoni, E.
• Tronconi, M.C.
• Riccardi, A.
• Luchena, G.
• Corazza, G.R.

Titel

UFT as Maintenance Therapy in Patients with Advanced Colorectal Cancer Responsive to the FOLFOX4 Regimen

Ist Teil von

• Oncology, 2007-01, Vol.72 (5-6), p.267-273

Ort / Verlag

Basel, Switzerland: Karger

Erscheinungsjahr

2007

Quelle

MEDLINE

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Background: In advanced colorectal cancer (ACC), FOLFOX4 has been accepted as a standard chemotherapeutic regimen. Due to the neurotoxicity induced by oxaliplatin, which occurs in about 50% of patients during the 6-month FOLFOX4 regimen, and the frequent need for hospitalization, alternative regimens may be required. We aimed to determine whether a ‘maintenance’ therapy with oral UFT (uracil-tegafur) in patients responding to FOLFOX4 is able to maintain the response and improve the quality of life (QoL) as a result of the outpatient regimen and lower psychological distress. Methods: Untreated patients with ACC who did not progress after 6 months of FOLFOX4 received oral UFT until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. The aim of the study was to maintain the response obtained with the FOLFOX4 regimen for at least 6 months. The secondary objective was to evaluate QoL during the two different treatment regimens utilizing the 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). Results: From January 2003 to August 2004, out of the enrolled 30 patients [22 males and 8 females; 2 patients with a complete response (CR), 14 patients with a partial response (PR) and 6 patients in stable disease (SD) after 6 months of FOLFOX4] 22 continued therapy with UFT until progression without significant toxicity; the remaining 8 patients (27%) had progressive disease (PD) during or at the end of FOLFOX4 and were treated with other regimen. After 6 months of UFT, 4 patients (13%) had CR, 6 patients (20%) PR and 4 patients (13%) SD; 16 patients (53%) progressed. Median follow-up was 31 months [interquartile range (IQR): 20–31 months]; 14 patients died of PD. The median time to progression was 13.9 (IQR: 7.7–20.1) months and the median survival time was 31 months (IQR: 20–31 months). Evaluation of QoL demonstrated a trend towards better QoL during UFT treatment. Conclusions: These results support the feasibility of maintaining good response and improving QoL (measured by SF-36) with an oral fluoropyrimidine after combination chemotherapy in ACC patients; moreover, since UFT can be used orally, patient compliance is increased and the duration of hospitalization can be decreased.