Xeloda better than colon cancer gold-standard

A pre-planned multivariate analysis of the five-year follow-up data from the X-ACT study shows that patients receiving chemotherapy after-surgery to treat colon cancer are more likely to live longer when taking Swiss drug major Roche's chemotherapy pill Xeloda (capecitabine), compared to those on 5-fluroruracil intravenous chemotherapy.

The study compared Xeloda to the previous gold-standard IV chemotherapy for colon cancer, 5-FU. The results showed that five years after beginning treatment, the percentage of patients who survived was higher in the group taking Xeloda than those on IV 5-FU (71.4% versus 68.4%). Results from the study were presented at the World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer, held in Barcelona, Spain.

"These data leave no doubt that Xeloda is the better treatment option," said Eduardo Diaz-Rubio, chief of the department of medical oncology, San Carlos Hospital Clinic, Madrid. "The Mayo Clinic regimen has been the standard, but now that we have long-term evidence supporting Xeloda's superior efficacy it is time for that standard to change. When you combine these results with results from studies of Xeloda as an effective treatment for stomach and colorectal cancer, it is clear that it can replace IV 5-FU in all gastrointestinal cancer chemotherapy courses," he added.