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 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 BRAF V600E mutations.

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.