Experimental Chemo Combo for Colon Cancer Disappoints

Adding the drug cetuximab (brand name Erbitux) to standard chemotherapy after surgery for stage 3 colon cancer did not improve disease-free survival in patients, a new study concludes. Patients with stage 3 colon cancer who undergo surgery have a 50 percent chance of cure, and clinical trials have found that chemotherapy with the drugs leucovorin, fluorouracil and oxaliplatin (a regimen known as FOLFOX) after surgery can cut the odds for colon cancer's return…The time to cancer recurrence and overall survival was similar in both groups, said Dr. Steven Alberts, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and colleagues in a journal news release.

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