Leonard Saltz, MD, executive director for Clinical Value & Sustainability, head, Colorectal Oncology Section, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses the option of FOLFIRINOX for the treatment of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC).

FOLFIRINOX is a chemotherapy regimen consisting of leucovorin, fluorouracil, irinotecan, and oxaliplatin. It has shown positive data in patients with CRC who have excellent performance status, but Saltz says that there is concern over the dosage of fluorouracil. For example, frontline FOLFIRINOX with or without bevacizumab (Avastin) is the preferred standard-of-care option for patients with CRC who harbor 

Saltz comments that he uses FOLFIRINOX when he needs a rapid response in terms of tumor regression, but only if the patient is in overall good medical shape. The question of chemothearpy remains complicated in this tumor type, as there are a plethora of treatment options with varying advantages and disadvantages.

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Leonard Saltz, MD, executive director for Clinical Value & Sustainability, head, Colorectal Oncology Section, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses the option of FOLFIRINOX for the treatment of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.
 

Dr. Saltz Discusses FOLFIRINOX in Colorectal Cancer

Leonard Saltz, MD, executive director for Clinical Value & Sustainability, head, Colorectal Oncology Section, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses chemotherapy for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC).

The question of chemotherapy for patients with metastatic CRC remains a complicated one, says Saltz. This is due to the plethora of options, all with their own advantages and disadvantages.

Saltz says that the first decision point when treating these patients is the cytotoxic backbone—typically FOLFOX or FOLFIRI. It is an every-other-week schedule with a 48-hour infusion of fluorouracil (5-FU) with either oxaliplatin or irinotecan. These regimens are comparable, says Saltz, but the toxicity profiles are different, and need to be discussed with the patient.

Articles

Leonard Saltz, MD, Executive Director for Clinical Value & Sustainability, head, Colorectal Oncology Section, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses chemotherapy for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.

Leonard Saltz, MD

Articles

Dr. Saltz Discusses FOLFIRINOX in Colorectal Cancer

Dr. Saltz Discusses Chemotherapy in Metastatic CRC