Phase II data on paclitaxel and docetaxel in gastrointestinal malignancies

From the contributions in this volume, it is apparent that in spite of promising chemotherapy combinations and new multidisciplinary approaches, the treatment of advanced gastrointestinal malignancies remains a difficult task. New agents have recently been developed with either a better therapeutic ratio (fluoropyrimidine analogs or modulators of the metabolic pathway of those agents) or a better activity due to a different mechanism of action. Among the latter agents, the topoisomerase I inhibitors (especially irinotecan, also known as CPT-11) and new antimetabolities (difluorodeoxycytidine, also known as gemcitabine) are of interest for difficult tumors, such as colon and pancreatic cancer. This short review describes the phase II studies on the activity of taxoids, agents that promote tubulin assembly in microtubules and inhibit their depolymerization.