Uracil-tegafur/leucovorin and mitomycin C salvage therapy in patients with advanced colorectal cancer: a phase II study

Abstract

We investigated the efficacy and safety of oral Uracil/tegafur (UFT) with leucovorin and mitomycin C (MMC) as third-line treatment for patients with extensively pretreated metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). This was a multicenter, prospective phase II study. Patients received MMC 7 mg/m² on day 1 and UFT 300 mg/m² with leucovorin 90 mg, both divided into three daily doses, on days 1–28 every 5 weeks. All patients had failed prior treatment with irinotecan, oxaliplatin, fluoropyrimidine, bevacizumab, and cetuximab. The primary endpoint was tumor control rate evaluated after 2 cycles. Twenty-one patients were included: median age was 66 years (41·1–87·8 years). Tumor control rate was observed in 26·7% of the 15 patients evaluable for response. Median overall survival was 6·4 months. Grade 3 adverse events were asthenia, anorexia, and vomiting. In patients with mCRC who have progressed after as many as two prior therapies, the combination of UFT/leucovorin and MMC is safe and may produce a short stabilization of disease in approximately 25% of patients.

Keywords:

• UFT
• Mitomycin C
• Third-line chemotherapy
• Salvage
• Advanced colorectal cancer

This study was supported by a grant from Merck-Serono.