Aims: To investigate the combination of raltitrexed and mitomycin-C as first-line chemotherapy treatment in patients with advanced colorectal cancer.
Materials and methods: A phase II study.
Results: In total, 22 patients were treated with a combination of raltitrexed 3 mg/m2 every 3 weeks and mitomycin-C 7 mg/m2 every 6 weeks for up to 24 weeks. The study was closed early for safety reasons as there were three unexpected treatment-related deaths. The overall response rate was 20%, and a further 40% achieved stable disease. The median time to progression was 3.9 months and the median overall survival time was 11.6 months.
Conclusion: Owing to the potential for increased toxicity, the combination of raltitrexed and mitomycin-C cannot be recommended as first-line treatment in patients with advanced colorectal cancer.