Chronic Disease

Survival rates for colon cancer patients on chemotherapy improve with addition of oxaliplatin

Studies have shown improved survival rates for patients with stage III colon cancer when oxaliplatin was added to adjuvant 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) chemotherapy. However, since patients in those trials were younger, less ethnically diverse, and in good health, the applicability of the findings to patients treated in the community has been uncertain. Now a new study finds that a wider variety of patients also benefit from this approach. The use of oxaliplatin-containing adjuvant therapy was associated with a consistent pattern of improved survival for older, sicker, and minority group patients with stage III colon cancer. Data on patients came from five datasets and diverse treatment settings, including specialty cancer centers, academic oncology groups, community oncology practices, and Veterans Administration hospitals.
All patients with stage III colon cancer were younger than 75 and had received chemotherapy within 120 days of surgery. The authors conclude that oxaliplatin is associated with marginally but consistently superior survival for patients diagnosed before age 75 years in community settings. This study was supported in part by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (Contract Nos. 290-05-0016, 290-05-0040).
See "Comparative effectiveness of oxaliplatin vs. non-oxaliplatin-containing adjuvant chemotherapy for Stage III colon cancer," by Hanna K. Sanoff, M.D., William R. Carpenter, Ph.D., Christopher F. Martin, M.S.P.H., and others in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute 10, pp. 211-227, 2012.

— MWS