Abstract

Background: We evaluated the efficacy and safety of the weekly combination of etoposide, leucovorin (LV) and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) when administered as second-line chemotherapy in patients with
relapsed/refractory advanced colorectal cancer (ACC), previously treated with weekly LV+5- FU.
Material/Methods: Etoposide was administered at 3 different dose levels (DL), in 3 groups of patients (total=60): DL-I – etoposide 80 mg/m2, 45 min i.v. infusion, DL-II – etoposide 120 mg/m2, and DL-III – etoposide 180 mg/m2. In all three levels etoposide was followed by LV 100 mg/m2 i.v., 1-hour infusion, and 5-FU 500 mg/m2 i.v. bolus. Treatment was administered until disease progression
or unacceptable toxicity.
Results: No patients responded at DL-I, while 2 patients at DL-II and 3 at DL-III had a partial response (PR) (P

Keywords: Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols - therapeutic use, Colorectal Neoplasms - drug therapy, Etoposide - administration & dosage, Fluorouracil - administration & dosage, Leucovorin - administration & dosage, Time Factors