Biologic modulation of 5-fluorouracil with high-dose leucovorin and combination chemotherapy of 5-fluorouracil and cisplatin in metastatic colorectal adenocarcinoma

The data from an ongoing 3-arm prospective study of 72 patients with advanced colorectal carcinoma is presented. The 3 regimens are as follows: Regime 1 (every 4 weeks)--5-fluorouracil (FUra) (450 mg/m2 iv bolus daily for 5 days, then 200 mg/m2 iv bolus every other day for 6 doses); regime 2 (every week for 4 weeks, then every other week)--methotrexate (MTX) (50 mg/m2 in a 4-hour infusion) followed by FUra (600 mg/m2 iv bolus); regime 3 (weekly for 6 weeks followed by a 2-week rest period)--D,L-leucovorin (D,L-CF) (500 mg/m2 in a 2-hour infusion) with FUra (600 mg/m2 iv bolus) 1 hour after the D,L-CF infusion began. All monitoring lesions except lung were documented by tissue biopsy. Thirteen of 18 patients in the FUra + D,L-CF arm were evaluable for response. Six of the 13 patients (46%) have had a partial response. The duration of the 6 responses has been 11, 8, 7, 4, 3 and 3 months. In patients with liver metastases as the monitoring lesion, a dramatic improvement in liver function tests has been seen during the first 2 courses (12 weeks) of treatment, but this was not sustained. The toxicity of FUra + D,L-CF was predominantly gastrointestinal; unlike with FUra alone, myelosuppression was not predominant.