Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third lead ing cause of cancer in both men and women worldwide (Goldberg, 2005). Upon diag nosis, 19% of CRC cases are metastatic, and while the overall 5-year survival rate for patients with early CRC is ∼ 60%, the rate drops to 10% or less in patients with advanced disease (Goldberg, 2005).
5-Fluorouracil (FU) has been for many years the backbone of therapy for CRC since it demonstrated to improve patients overall survival either in the adjuvant set ting or in the metastatic disease (Goldberg, 2005). Based on the evidence that FU has a schedule-dependent activity, various strategies have been evaluated to improve their cytotoxic effects, such as changing the dose, the schedule and route of admin istration or combining with the biomodula-tor leucovorin, overall obtaining response rates of ~ 15–25% (Venook, 2005).
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Barone, C., Landriscina, M., Cassano, A. (2009). Colorectal Cancer: Optimization of the Combination of 5-Fluorouracil and Irinotecan. In: Hayat, M.A. (eds) Colorectal Cancer. Methods of Cancer Diagnosis, Therapy, and Prognosis, vol 4. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9545-0_7
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