Palliative Chemotherapy in Treating Patients With Advanced Colorectal Cancer

• Status: Unknown status
• Trial end date: 1969-12-31
• Target enrollment: 0
• Participant gender: All

Summary

RATIONALE: Palliative chemotherapy may help patients with advanced colorectal cancer live longer and more comfortably.

PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of and quality of life following three different palliative chemotherapy regimens in treating patients with advanced metastatic or recurrent colorectal cancer.

• Phase: Phase 3
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers?: No

Details

• Lead Sponsor: Medical Research Council
• Treatments: Calcium; Fluorouracil; Leucovorin; Levoleucovorin; Raltitrexed

Criteria

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS: Histologically confirmed adenocarcinoma of the colon or rectum in one of the following categories: Locally advanced, metastatic, or recurrent disease suitable only for palliative chemotherapy Evaluable disease outside prior radiotherapy field Patients with disease confined to the liver are referred to protocol MRC-CR05

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS: Age: Not specified Performance status: WHO 0-2 Life expectancy:

Greater than 3 months Hematopoietic: WBC at least 4,000 ANC at least 2,000 Platelets at least 100,000 Hepatic: Not specified Renal: Creatinine no greater than 1.25 times normal OR Creatinine clearance greater than 65 mL/min Cardiovascular: No uncontrolled heart failure No uncontrolled angina Other: No uncontrolled medical illness (including infection) Able and willing to complete quality-of-life questionnaires No prior or concurrent malignancy likely to interfere with protocol treatment or evaluation

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY: No prior systemic chemotherapy except fluorouracil-based adjuvant regimen (e.g., QUASAR) At least 6 months since chemotherapy