ABSTRACT
In the earliest part of the new century, there have been promising new developments in the treatment of colorectal cancer. After 40 years of therapeutic utilization and clinical investigations of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in colorectal cancer, there is also strong evidence that we now have available rational means of deciding appropriate use of this rationally designed drug. Moreover, for the first time, a 5-FU-based combination therapy for colorectal cancer has demonstrated an improvement in survival compared with single-agent therapy for disseminated disease.1,2 The advent of irinotecan as only the second chemotherapeutic agent with demonstrable cytotoxic activity in this cancer appears to represents a major step forward in the treatment of this prevalent disease. If 5-FU and irinotecan are found to improve survival after potentially curative surgery, the promise of a useful combination chemotherapy for colorectal cancer patients will be realized.
