Phase I clinical and pharmacokinetic study of S-1 plus oral leucovorin in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.

Purpose: S-1 has shown a response rate of 35% in chemonaïve patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). Leucovorin enhances the antitumor activity of 5-fluorouracil, and concurrent oral administration of S-1 and leucovorin may represent a more active treatment option for mCRC.

Methods: S-1 (35 mg/m) and leucovorin (25 mg/body) were orally administered twice daily to chemonaïve patients with mCRC. Predefined dose (schedule)-limiting toxicities (DLTs) during the first course and treatment continuity during the first two courses were evaluated during three periods of treatment with S-1 plus leucovorin (level 0, 2 weeks; level 1, 3 weeks; and level 2, 4 weeks), each followed by a 2-week rest. The pharmacokinetics (PK) of S-1 and leucovorin were studied on days 1 and 14 of the first course.

Results: Fifteen patients were enrolled. All three patients had DLTs at level 2, and this level was considered the maximum tolerated schedule. Level 0 was designated as the recommended schedule based on the incidences of DLTs and treatment continuity. The main toxic effects were gastrointestinal, such as diarrhea and stomatitis. There was no grade 4 adverse event or treatment-related death. The overall response rate was 67% (95% confidence interval, 38-88%). The PK profiles of S-1 plus leucovorin were similar to those in previous studies.

Conclusions: The recommended schedule was 2 weeks of S-1 plus leucovorin followed by a 2-week rest. The increased response and gastrointestinal toxicities of S-1 plus leucovorin as compared with S-1 monotherapy suggest that co-administration of leucovorin enhanced the activity of S-1.