Short-time infusion of oxaliplatin (Eloxatin) in combination with capecitabine (Xeloda) in patients with advanced colorectal cancer.

Neuropathy exacerbated by exposure to cold is a dose-limiting toxicity of oxaliplatin. The incidence of this side effect is claimed to dependent on infusion rate and therefore a 2-h infusion is often recommended. For practical reasons and for the convenience of the patient, we used XELOX (Xeloda 2000 mg/m2 orally on days 1-14 and oxaliplatin 130 mg/m2 as a 30-min infusion on day 1) in patients with advanced colorectal cancer resistant to irinotecan and 5-fluorouracil. Thirty-four consecutive patients received a median of 5 courses of XELOX. Nine patients obtained partial response (PR) (response rate (RR) 26%), 11 patients no change (NC), 7 patients disease progression (PD) and 7 patients were not evaluable. Median time to progression was 4.7 (2.6-7.6) months and median survival was 7.4 (6.0-11.3) months. Sixteen patients had neuropathy grade 1, four patients grade 2 and two patients grade 3. Short-time infusion of oxaliplatin and capecitabine is an active and convenient second-line regimen with a safety profile similar to that of other oxaliplatin schedules.