ABSTRACT
Objective: To evaluate the preliminary efficacy and safety of the 5-fluorouracil/leucovorin, irinotecan, and oxaliplatin (FOLF-OXIRI) and capecitabine, irinotecan, and oxaliplatin (CAPIRINOX) regimens as first-line therapy for unresectable advanced colorectal cancer. Methods: Between January 2013 and November 2018, 73 patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) were analyzed. All patients received first-line chemotherapy. Of them, 45 patients were administered FOLFOXIRI, and the remaining 28 patients were ad-ministered CAPIRINOX. The clinical outcomes and safety profiles were evaluated according to the objective response rate (ORR), con-version resection rate, and adverse effects. Results: The ORR, median progression-free survival (mPFS), and R0 resection rate in the FOLFOXIRI group were not statistically different from those in the CAPIRINOX group (60% vs. 57.1%, 7.7 months vs. 9.6 months, 24.4% vs . 17.9% , respectively; P>0.05). No treatment-related deaths occurred. The major adverse events were leukopenia, neutropenia, fa-tigue, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, alopecia, aspartate aminotransferase/alanine aminotransferase elevation, and neurotoxicity. The to-tal rate of grade 3/4 adverse events in the FOLFOXIRI group was 33.3% (15/45), while the total rate of grade 3/4 adverse events in the CAPIRINOX group was 46.4% (13/28). Toxicities between the two groups were not statistically significant (P=0.263). Conclusions: Both the FOLFOXIRI and CAPIRINOX regimens are effective as first-line treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer. The triple-agent chemo-therapy was associated with good efficacy and tolerable toxicity.