Jean-yves Douillard, MD, PhD

Recent combinations of chemotherapy have significantly improved the response rate and survival time for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.

Two randomized phase III trials with irinotecan as second-line treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer have shown that irinotecan (CPT-11, Camptosar) significantly improves survival when compared with best supportive care or continuous infusion of fluorouracil (5-FU) after failure of 5-FU.