Capecitabine and mitomycin C may be an effective treatment option for third-line chemotherapy in advanced colorectal cancer.
OBJECTIVE
We evaluated the activity in terms of time to progression (TTP) of mitomycin C and capecitabine in patients with advanced colorectal cancer who progressed after 2 lines of chemotherapy.


METHODS
Patients with advanced colorectal cancer undergoing third-line chemotherapy after failure of 5-FU with CPT-11 or oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy regimens were treated with capecitabine and mitomycin C.


RESULTS
Sixty-one patients were enrolled in this study. The median age was 55 years (range, 26-78 years) and the male:female ratio 21:40. We observed partial remissions in 5 patients (8%), stable disease in 25 patients (40%) and progression of disease in 31 patients (52%). Median TTP was 3 months and median survival was 6 months. Global toxicity was mild and entirely acceptable. Grade 3-4 hematological toxicity occurred in 12 patients and grade 3-4 nonhematological toxicity in 5 patients.


CONCLUSIONS
The combination of capecitabine and mitomycin C could represent an effective and manageable treatment option for colorectal cancer patients failing previous chemotherapy regimens.
Scartozzi
Mario
M
Clinica di Oncologia Medica, Azienda Ospedaliera Ospedali Riuniti, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy.
Falcone
Alfredo
A
Pucci
Francesca
F
Braconi
Chiara
C
Pierantoni
Chiara
C
Cavanna
Luigi
L
Franciosi
Vittorio
V
Berardi
Rossana
R
Beretta
Giordano
G
Masi
Gianluca
G
Allegrini
Giacomo
G
Zaniboni
Alberto
A
Labianca
Roberto
R
Cascinu
Stefano
S
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000903:Antibiotics, Antineoplastic / Q000008:administration & dosage; D000964:Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic / Q000008:administration & dosage; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000069287:Capecitabine; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D003841:Deoxycytidine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016685:Mitomycin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000903:Antibiotics, Antineoplastic; D000964:Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic; D003841:Deoxycytidine; D016685:Mitomycin; D000069287:Capecitabine; D005472:Fluorouracil