[Clinical use of oxaliplatin in solid tumors]

Oxaliplatin is approved in Europe for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer patients. Its antitumor activity in other solid tumors is ongoing evaluation and is already well established by randomized phase II studies in ovarian cancer. Phase II trials have also suggested a potential role for oxaliplatin in the treatment of non small cell lung cancers, breast cancers and other malignant diseases. Its large spectrum of anticancer activity is explained at least in part by its cytotoxicity in mismatch repair deficient cells. The absence of nephrotoxicity, the low hematotoxicity and the in vitro synergy with antimetabolites, platinums and topoisomerase I inhibitors suggest new chemotherapy combinations, many of them being ongoing evaluation.