Study: Xeloda With Radiotherapy Seen Promising for Rectal Cancer

A preliminary trial using the antimetabolite capecitabine together with radiotherapy to treat patients with rectal cancer has produced promising results, according to researchers.

Capecitabine, an oral drug marketed as Xeloda, interferes with the growth of cancer cells, and researchers previously have studied its use as an alternative to combination chemotherapy in treating advanced colorectal cancer.

Now, German researchers are exploring the feasibility of using it concurrently with radiotherapy in treating patients with rectal cancer.

They reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology that in a phase I study of 36 patients, capecitabine administered without break during a conventional radiotherapy period of about six weeks "proved to be a feasible and well-tolerated treatment option with promising preliminary efficacy results."

Other Sources: Journal of Clinical Oncology