title: [Efficacy and tolerance of maintenance therapy in patients with incurable advanced colorectal cancer].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate efficacy, safety, and feasibility of maintenance therapy with capecitabine after fluoropyrimidines/oxaliplatin or fluoropyrimidines/irinotecan chemotherapy in patients with incurable colorectal cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventy-three hospitalized patients with incurable colorectal cancer who received fluoropyrimidines/oxaliplatin or fluoropyrimidines/irinotecan as the first-line chemotherapy between May 2009 and December 2012 in our department were retrospectively analyzed. When the maximum percentage tumor size reduction was achieved, 42 patients received a maintenance therapy with capecitabine at 1000 mg/m(2) in two daily doses on days 1-14, and the other 31 patients without further chemotherapy or the maintenance therapy were followed up. The treatment was repeated every 3 weeks as a cycle until disease progression or intolerable toxicity. The efficacy and safety were evaluated by Kaplan-Meier analysis and Χ(2) analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The 42 patients receiving capecitabine maintenance therapy achieved a median progression free survival (PFS) of 11.6 months (95%CI 7.8-15.4), significantly longer than the PFS of 7.4 months (95% CI 4.9-11.8) in the 31 patients without the maintenance therapy (P<0.01). The response rate (RR) after combined chemotherapy in the two groups were similar (42.8% vs 38.7%). Χ(2) analysis indicated significant reductions in the adverse reactions (P<0.05) in both groups after therapy without significant differences between the two groups (P>0.05) except for hand-foot syndrome.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In patients with incurable colorectal cancer, capecitabine maintenance therapy following combined chemotherapy can achieve a prolonged PFS with a good safety and tolerance and retains the possibility of further intense therapy in the event of disease progression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Cancer Center, Guangdong General Hospital, Guangzhou 510080, China. E-mail: yangdongyang954@sohu.com.
authors.forename: Dongyang
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Jianhua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Weiwei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Dong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ma
mesh_terms: D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; D002166:Camptothecin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D000069287:Capecitabine; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D003841:Deoxycytidine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D018450:Disease Progression; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D006801:Humans; D000077146:Irinotecan; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D009944:Organoplatinum Compounds; D000077150:Oxaliplatin; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D009944:Organoplatinum Compounds; D000077150:Oxaliplatin; D003841:Deoxycytidine; D000069287:Capecitabine; D000077146:Irinotecan; D005472:Fluorouracil; D002166:Camptothecin