J Korean Soc Coloproctol.  2011 Jun;27(3):140-146. 10.3393/jksc.2011.27.3.140.

Adjuvant Chemotherapy Using the FOLFOX Regimen in Colon Cancer

• Jeon HJ
• Woo JH
• Lee HY
• Park KJ
• Choi HJ

• KMID: 2198762
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3393/jksc.2011.27.3.140

Abstract

PURPOSE
Great progress has been made in the adjuvant treatment of colon cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy using the FOLFOX regimen in patients with stage III and high-risk stage II colon cancer.
METHODS
Eighty-two patients who underwent a potentially curative resection for stage III or high-risk stage II colon cancer were enrolled in this retrospective study. They received FOLFOX4 or modified FOLFOX6. The primary endpoint was disease-free survival.
RESULTS
During the median follow-up of 37 months (range, 21 to 61 months), 14 patients experienced disease relapse. The disease-free survival rate at 3 years was 82.9%: 84.6% for stage II and 82.6% for stage III. At the time of the analysis, 8 patients were dead from recurrence. The probability of overall survival at 5 years was 74.5%: 90% for stage II and 74.6% for stage III. Grade 3 or 4 hematologic adverse events included neutropenia (40.2%), anemia (2.4%), and thrombocytopenia (1.2%). Gastrointestinal toxicities included grade 3 or 4 nausea (4.9%) and stomatitis (2.4%). Peripheral sensory neuropathy was observed in 81.7% of the patients during treatment. Of the 11 patients (13.4%) who had grade 3 peripheral sensory neuropathy during treatment, grade 3 symptoms were persistent in 3 patients with gait disturbance at the time of analysis. No treatment-related deaths were recorded.
CONCLUSION
Postoperative chemotherapy using the FOLFOX regimen, oxaliplatin in combination with 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin, is effective and tolerable in patients with stage III and high-risk stage II colon cancer.

Keyword

Colonic neoplasms; Adjuvant chemotherapy; Oxaliplatin; FOLFOX protocol

MeSH Terms

Anemia
Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols
Chemotherapy, Adjuvant
Colon
Colonic Neoplasms
Disease-Free Survival
Fluorouracil
Follow-Up Studies
Gait
Humans
Leucovorin
Nausea
Neutropenia
Organoplatinum Compounds
Recurrence
Retrospective Studies
Stomatitis
Thrombocytopenia
Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols
Fluorouracil
Leucovorin
Organoplatinum Compounds