Weekly 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin: achieving lower toxicity with higher dose-intensity in adjuvant chemotherapy after colorectal cancer resection.

Background: Current standard therapy following resection of high-risk colon cancer is intravenous bolus 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) with leucovorin (LV), but there is no consensus on the optimum regimen of these drugs: practice ranges from the high toxicity Mayo Clinic schedule to the very low toxicity weekly QUASAR schedule. We present data for a weekly schedule that aims to provide moderately dose-intense treatment with low toxicity.

Patients And Methods: One hundred and sixty-two patients were studied: 60% male; median age 65 years (36% over 70 years); 94% colorectal primary.