Abstract

We investigated the gefitinib, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), leucovorin and oxaliplatin (IFOX) regimen as first-line therapy in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.Eligible patients had stage IV colorectal adenocarcinoma, and had not received prior chemotherapy for metastatic disease. Each cycle consisted of 14 days. Cycle 1 consisted of oxaliplatin, leucovorin, and 5-FU (FOLFOX-4). All subsequent cycles consisted of FOLFOX-4 with gefitinib at 500 mg orally daily throughout the 14-day cycle.Forty-five patients were enrolled and were assessable for toxicity. Forty-three patients were assessable for response. Thirty-one of the 43 patients (72%) had either a complete or partial response by the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors. Median overall survival was 20.5 months. Median time to progression was 9.3 months. Commonly encountered grade 3 or 4 toxicities included diarrhea in 67% of patients and neutropenia in 60%. Grade 2 acneiform skin rash typical of gefitinib occurred in 60% of patients.IFOX is an active first-line regimen in patients with metastatic colorectal adenocarcinoma, showing higher response rates but also increased toxicities compared with FOLFOX-4 alone in a similar patient population.

View details for DOI 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-08-1014

View details for Web of Science ID 000260732200044

View details for PubMedID 18981005

View details for PubMedCentralID PMC2583341