Oxaliplatin: a new agent for colorectal cancer

For nearly 40 years, the medical treatment of colorectal cancer had been limited to the fluoropyrimidines until the recent development of irinotecan (CPT-11). In the past decade, a new agent has appeared, oxaliplatin. This third-generation platinum compound has synergistic activity with 5-fluorouracil and is non-cross-resistant with 5-fluorouracil, CPT-11, and other platinum agents. Numerous clinical trials in Europe have demonstrated the activity of oxaliplatin in patients with untreated and refractory metastatic colorectal cancer. Nevertheless, the US Food and Drug Administration recently denied approval for oxaliplatin as first-line treatment of colorectal cancer because of a lack of clear-cut survival advantage in clinical trials. Additional clinical trials in patients with colorectal cancer are ongoing in the United States and will test the activity of oxaliplatin in the metastatic and adjuvant setting. These studies will define the role for what appears to be a very useful and important agent.