Efficacy of capecitabine versus 5-fluorouracil in colorectal and gastric cancers: a meta-analysis of individual data from 6171 patients

Cassidy, J., Saltz, L., Twelves, C., Van Cutsem, E., Hoff, P., Kang, Y., Saini, J.P., Gilberg, F. and Cunningham, D. (2011) Efficacy of capecitabine versus 5-fluorouracil in colorectal and gastric cancers: a meta-analysis of individual data from 6171 patients. Annals of Oncology, 22(12), pp. 2604-2609. (doi: 10.1093/annonc/mdr031)

Abstract

Background: To compare the effects of oral capecitabine-containing chemotherapy regimens with i.v. 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-containing chemotherapy regimens on overall survival in patients with gastrointestinal cancers. Methods: A meta-analysis, based on individual patient data from six randomised non-inferiority trials, was carried out at the request of regulatory authorities to compare the effects of single-agent capecitabine or capecitabine-containing chemotherapy versus matched 5-FU-based regimens in terms of overall survival in patients with stage III colon, metastatic colorectal or advanced gastric cancer. Results: Data from a total of 6171 patients with stage III colon cancer (n = 1987), metastatic colorectal cancer (n = 3868) or advanced gastric cancer (n = 316) were included. A total of 3097 patients were treated with capecitabine-containing chemotherapy and 3074 patients with 5-FU-containing chemotherapy. The unadjusted hazard ratio for overall survival for capecitabine-containing chemotherapy versus 5-FU-containing chemotherapy was 0.94 (95% confidence interval 0.89-1.00; P = 0.0489). Conclusions: Oral capecitabine is at least equivalent to i.v. 5-FU in terms of overall survival in patients with gastrointestinal cancers. Capecitabine and 5-FU can be used interchangeably in these patient populations

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Cassidy, Professor James
• Authors: Cassidy, J., Saltz, L., Twelves, C., Van Cutsem, E., Hoff, P., Kang, Y., Saini, J.P., Gilberg, F., and Cunningham, D.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Cancer Sciences
• Journal Name: Annals of Oncology
• ISSN: 0923-7534