Study of Metronomic Capecitabine and Oxaliplatin Versus XELOX in Egyptian Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Patients

Overview

Colorectal cancer (CRC) in Egypt is advanced tumors at diagnosis. Although, the dramatic increase in efficacy, reduction of mortality, and improvements in survival by the use of standard doses of chemotherapy, some CRC patients suffer from severe toxicities besides disease progression. Use of chemotherapy less than the maximum tolerated dose, with no prolonged drug free breaks incapacitates the cells to engage in progression mechanisms, suggesting that it could be a better alternative to standard dose therapy with better toxicity profile

This is a randomized phase II prospective study that included 70 (35 in each arm) metastatic Egyptian CRC cancer patients diagnosed at the National Cancer Institute, Cairo University between January 2016 and June 2018). Patients were randomly treated with either classic XELOX (arm A) or with capecitabine (2000 mg daily x 8 weeks) and oxaliplatin (30 mg/m2 weekly X 8 weeks) then 2 weeks rest (arm B). Toxicities and the survival analysis after two years for both regimens were recorded. Blood samples are taken from both groups to assess pharmacokinetics of capecitabine and its relation to dosing.

Conditions