Capecitabine in combination with oxaliplatin or irinotecan in elderly patients with advanced colorectal cancer: results of a randomised phase II study.

摘要

In a recent issue of Annals of Oncology, Rosati et al. [1] report the results of a randomised phase II trial of doublet chemotherapy for advanced colorectal cancer, investigating the substitution of oral capecitabine for infusion fluoropyrimidine in two chemotherapy schedules (oxaliplatin or irinotecan). The primary aim of this study was to assess the outcome in an elderly population. This is an important area of research, but we wish to highlight aspects of this paper that may benefit from further discussion.Firstly, the paper highlights the significant population of cancer patients who will be aged 75 years and older in the future. However, this study included patients aged between 70 and 75 years and ultimately 50% of patients were aged <75 years. There is reference to an analysis of patients aged >75 years, and the paper concludes that there is a subgroup of patients aged >75 years who are suitable for consideration of combination chemotherapy, but these data are not shown. We feel this should be reported in more detail, including information on the performance status, the co-morbidities, and the toxic effects experienced in this group.