Bolus

nuc said:

Pam,

Pam,

I'm glad you found that 5FU was a good alternative for you, that's the most important thing, you found what works best for you.

However, multiple studies have shown that for most pts. (of course not all), Cap. is the better chemotherapy drug of the 2.  Better response, improved safety, improved quality of life, all while still having equal disease free survival and overall survival as 5FU.

But, maybe I didn't state the question correctly.  I should have said, "I can't figure out why more pts., prior to beginning chemo, aren't given the option between receiving CAPOX or FOLFOX". The pt. should be allowed to make an informed decision after being explained the differences between the 2.  If the first chemo choice doesn't work well with the pt., switching to the other chemo can be easily done.

I would imagine that if pts. were given the Capecitabine choice, along with its benefits over 5FU, most would not start their treatment with the more invasive 5FU.

Adam

 

I read that Capox has a slight better outcome in terms of 5 year survival rates (about 1% better than Folfox). Capox also improves the quality of life of patients since you don't have to use the pump, etc...On the same place I read these benefits it was also mentioned that Capox has higher toxicity than Folfox, thus it is less tolerable for some people.

I hope this is really the explanation about both...... if the doctors are chosing Folfox due to $$$$$ I would be really angry with them.

BTW, I had the chance to chose between both... 2 doctors proposed different treatments for me... one preferred Capox and the other preferred Folfox. I picked up Folfox since the 2nd doctor was really known by his good work. I will try yo find out more details later !