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Previous Volume 343:963-964 September 28, 2000 Number 13 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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For more than 40 years, fluorouracil has been the mainstay of treatment for advanced colorectal cancer, the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States. The drug is thought to act primarily by inhibiting the enzyme thymidylate synthase, thereby blocking the synthesis of DNA. In about 20 percent of patients who receive fluorouracil, the measurable tumor decreases by more than 50 percent. These patients are thought to survive longer than patients whose tumors do not respond to fluorouracil. Debate continues about the best way to administer fluorouracil; a "loading" regimen (consisting of an intravenous bolus of the drug . . . [Full Text of this Article]

References

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Aschele, C., Debernardis, D., Lonardi, S., Bandelloni, R., Casazza, S., Monfardini, S., Gallo, L. (2004). Deleted in Colon Cancer Protein Expression in Colorectal Cancer Metastases: A Major Predictor of Survival in Patients With Unresectable Metastatic Disease Receiving Palliative Fluorouracil-Based Chemotherapy. JCO 22: 3758-3765 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Saltz, L. B., Douillard, J.-Y., Pirotta, N., Alakl, M., Gruia, G., Awad, L., Elfring, G. L., Locker, P. K., Miller, L. L. (2001). Irinotecan Plus Fluorouracil/Leucovorin for Metastatic Colorectal Cancer: A New Survival Standard. The Oncologist 6: 81-91 [Abstract] [Full Text]