Stage III MSI High Colon Cancer May Benefit from Irinotecan

About 15 percent of people with stage III colon cancer may have fewer recurrences and better survival when they are treated with irinotecan. Although all stage III colon cancers don’t have an additional benefit when irinotecan is added to bolus 5-FU and leucovorin in a treatment called IFL, this smaller group does.

About 15 percent of colon cancers develop when damaged DNA is not repaired and mutated cells grow into malignant tumors.  So-called deficient mismatch repair (dMMR) tumors have features different from most colorectal cancer, including a better prognosis.  They also have a very poor response to 5-FU-based chemotherapy.

However, researchers studying tumor tissue from patients enrolled in a clinical trial comparing 5-FU and leucovorin alone to 5-FU, leucovorin, and irinotecan found that those with deficient mismatch repair tumors who received irinotecan had better disease-free survival and overall survival at five years than patients whose mismatch repair genes were working.  Those with dMMR on the 5-FU-only arm of the trial had no similar benefit. Continue reading…

Posted by Kate Murphy on June 12th, 2009
Posted in: Research & Treatment News | 2 Comments »
Tags: deficient mismatch repair, irinotecan, MSI

Adding Irinotecan to Infusional 5-FU Does Not Add Benefit for Stage III Colon Cancer

Five years after surgery, there was no improvement in either disease-free survival or overall survival when irinotecan was added to standard 5-FU treatments delivered via continous infusion for patients with stage III colon cancer.  Adding irinotecan increased the rate of serious side effects.

The PETACC-3  (Pan European Trial Adjuvant Colon Cancer)  trial was designed to see if adding irinotecan to 5-FU and leucovorin could increase the percentage of stage III patients who were alive and cancer-free (disease-free survival).  It also studied overall survival and relapse-free survival. Continue reading…

Posted by Kate Murphy on May 19th, 2009
Posted in: Research & Treatment News | No Comments »
Tags: irinotecan, stage III colon cancer, survival

Colorectal Cancer News in Brief: April 24

Verna Cox with Sen. Bob Casey in Washington

C3 Advocate Verna Cox was featured in the Philadelphia Daily News yesterday, and there’s a link to her story as well as links to the winning entries in the Get Screened Video Contest.

This week, we also report research showing that the elderly benefit from irinotecan chemotherapy treatments, a potential vaccine for travelers diarrhea, and no link between coffee drinking and colorectal cancer. Continue reading…

Posted by Kate Murphy on April 24th, 2009
Posted in: Research & Treatment News | No Comments »
Tags: coffee, colorectal cancer risk, irinotecan, travelers diarrhea, Verna Cox