[Case reports of use of TS-1 for second/third-line chemotherapy for advanced colorectal carcinoma]

The usefulness of TS-1 as second/third-line therapy was evaluated in 7 patients with stage IIIb/IV colorectal cancer in whom the response to prior 5-FU/l-LV+CPT-11 therapy administered at our hospital had been rated as progressive disease (PD). The initial dose level of TS-1 was set at 80 mg/m2. The median follow-up period was 8 months. The response rate to TS-1 therapy was 14.3% (1/7). Four cases (57.1%) were rated as showing partial response (PR) or no change (NC). The median time to treatment failure (TTF) was 117 days. Thus, relatively satisfactory tumor dormancy was achieved in IFL-resistant cases. All adverse reactions observed were grade 2 or less severe. These results suggest that TS-1 used as the second/third-line therapy will contribute to improving the prognosis of patients with advanced or recurrent colorectal cancer.