BACKGROUND: Capecitabine and oxaliplatin are both effective and well-tolerated 
monotherapies for the treatment of advanced colorectal cancer (CRC). Oxaliplatin 
has also been shown to be very effective when combined with 5-FU/LV in the 
first-line setting.
AIM OF THE STUDY: Assess the efficacy and safety of capecitabine plus 
oxaliplatin (XELOX) in patients with previously untreated advanced CRC.
METHODS: Fifty-three patients with measurable disease received capecitabine 
1,000 mg/m2 twice daily on d 1-14 and oxaliplatin 130 mg/m2 on d 1, every 3 wk. 
Of these, 52 were evaluable for safety and 49 for antitumor response.
RESULTS: There was a low rate of grade 1/2 adverse events; grade 3/4 events 
included leukopenia (10%), neutropenia (6%), thrombocytopenia (2%), 
nausea/vomiting (4%), and diarrhea (4%). The overall response rate was 39% (95% 
CI, 25-54%) and median time to disease progression was 7.8 mo.
CONCLUSIONS: XELOX is an active and well-tolerated first-line treatment for 
advanced CRC. Randomized phase III studies are ongoing to compare XELOX with 
FOLFOX in view of the comparable efficacy and safety but superior convenience of 
XELOX therapy.