Should capecitabine replace 5-fluorouracil in the first-line treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer?

Table 1 Comparison of treatment efficacy as a monotherapy

Clinical trial	Type	Treatments	ORR	PFS (mo)	OS (mo)
Van Cutsem et al[12] (2001)	Phase III	Capecitabine vs 5-FU/LV	18.9% vs 15.0% (P = 0.013)	5.2 vs 4.7 (HR = 0.96, P = 0.65)	13.2 vs 12.1 (HR = 0.92, P = 0.33)
Hoff et al[11] (2001)	Phase III	Capecitabine vs 5-FU/LV	24.8% vs 15.5% (P = 0.005)	4.3 vs 4.7 (HR = 1.03, P = 0.72)	12.5 vs 13.3 (HR = 1, P = 0.97)
Van Cutsem et al[13] (2004)	Integrated Analysis (Phase III)	Capecitabine vs 5-FU/LV	26% vs 17% (P < 0.0002)	4.6 vs 4.7 (HR = 0.99, P = 0.95)	12.9 vs 12.8 (HR = 0.95, P = 0.48)

Capecitabine: 1250 mg/m² every 12 h (days 1-14), 3-wk regimen cycle; 5-FU/LV (Mayo clinic): 425 mg/m² 5-FU bolus + LV 20 mg/m² (days 1-5), 4-wk regimen cycle. ORR: Overall response rate; PFS: Progression-free Survival; OS: Overall survival; HR: Hazard ratio; LV: Leucovorin.