Role of calcium/ magnesium infusion in oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy for colorectal cancer patients.

The combination of oxaliplatin plus fluorouracil/leucovorin is known as the FOLFOX regimen, and it has become a standard regimen for colorectal cancer (CRC), both as adjuvant therapy and as treatment for metastatic disease. Unfortunately, platinum-based chemotherapies also produce neurotoxicity as a side effect. Neurotoxicity is the most common dose-limiting toxicity of oxaliplatin, and it is one of the major causes for patients to stop receiving chemotherapy.

A phase I/II trial of beta-(1,3)/(1,6) D-glucan in the treatment of patients with advanced malignancies receiving chemotherapy.

Beta-(1,3)/(1,6) D-glucan, a component of the fungal cell wall, has been shown to stimulate the immune system, enhance hematopoiesis, amplify killing of opsonized tumor cells and increase neutrophil chemotaxis and adhesion. In view of these attributes, the beta-glucans should be studied for both their therapeutic efficacy in patients with cancer as well as an adjunctive therapy in patients receiving chemotherapy as a maneuver to limit suppression of hematopoiesis.In this study, twenty patients with advanced malignancies receiving chemotherapy were given a beta-(1,3)/(1,6) D-glucan preparation (MacroForce plus IP6, ImmuDyne, Inc.