Multicentre phase II study of bifractionated CPT-11 with bimonthly leucovorin and 5-fluorouracil in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer pretreated with FOLFOX

This multicentre phase II study was designed to evaluate the antitumour activity and toxicity of bifractionated camptothecin (CPT-11) and 5-fluorouracil/ leucovorin (5-FU/LV) in the treatment of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (MCC) who had been pretreated with 5-FU/LV-oxaliplatin (FOLFOX regimen). In all, 35 patients were enrolled in a two-stage trial. Treatment consisted of two daily doses of CPT-11, 90 mg m(2) administered over 90 min, followed by LV, 200 mg m(2) administered over 2 h plus 5-FU 400 mg m(2) as a bolus and 600 mg m(2) as a 22-h continuous infusion administered with disposable pumps as outpatient therapy. Toxicity was closely monitored. Response was evaluated by computed tomography scans every 8 weeks. All 35 patients were assessable for toxicity and response to treatment. Seven patients had a partial response, giving an overall response rate of 20%; 11 patients had stable disease (31.4%) and 17 progressed (48.5%). The median progression-free survival was 7.1 months and median survival was 14 months. A total of 10 patients (30%) experienced grade 3–4 toxicity, including nausea (15%), diarrhoea (12%) and neutropenia (15%), while seven patients (21%) had grade 2 alopecia. The bifractionated bimonthly schedule of CPT-11 plus 5-FU/LV showed substantial antitumour activity and was well tolerated in this group of patients with a poor prognosis, pretreated with the FOLFOX regimen.