Colon Cancer Patient Survival Improved With Oxaliplatin

Stage III colon cancer patients experience an increased rate of survival when oxaliplatin is combined with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) during adjuvant treatment, according to a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results registry linked to Medicare claims, among other cancer registries, was collected by Hanna K. Sanoff, MD, an assistant professor of medicine, hematology, and oncology at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, and her colleagues in order to establish the effects of the combined therapy among patients in the general population. All patients included in the study had stage III colon cancer, were aged 75 years or younger, and received chemotherapy within 120 days of surgery. Researchers compared overall survival between patients treated with the combination therapy and the standard chemotherapy.

Sanoff and colleagues found that adding oxaliplatin to adjuvant therapies for patients with stage III colon cancer was effective. Furthermore, oxaliplatin had a positive effect in older patients, minority patients, and patients with greater comorbidity. According to the authors, “Physicians and patients should be reassured from our findings that oxaliplatin is associated with marginally but consistently superior survival for patients diagnosed before age 75 years in community settings.” The researchers believe the next step is to determine the benefits for patients in high-risk groups, including patients older than 75, racially diverse minorities, and those with comorbid conditions.

Source: NCI.