Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (24)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Van Cutsem, E.
Right arrow Articles by Glimelius, B.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Van Cutsem, E.
Right arrow Articles by Glimelius, B.
Related Collections
Right arrow 2002 - Review Articles
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Annals of Oncology 13:513-522, 2002
© 2002 European Society for Medical Oncology

Review Article

Raltitrexed: current clinical status and future directions

E. Van Cutsem1,+, D. Cunningham2, J. Maroun3, A. Cervantes4 and B. Glimelius5

1University Hospital Gasthuisberg, Leuven, Belgium; 2Institute of Cancer Research, Royal Marsden Hospital, London, UK; 3Department of Medical Oncology, Ottawa Regional Cancer Centre, Ontario, Canada; 4Servicio de Oncologiá/Hematologiá, Valencia, Spain; 5Department of Oncology, Akademiska Sjkhuset, Uppsala, Sweden

Received 22 February 2001; revised 31 August 2001; accepted 20 September 2001.

Abstract

Raltitrexed (‘Tomudex’) monotherapy is a conveniently administered alternative to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in the first-line treatment of advanced colorectal cancer (CRC), and has single-agent activity in a variety of advanced solid tumours. Although both raltitrexed and 5-FU are thymidylate synthase inhibitors, raltitrexed has a specific mode of action and a toxicity profile distinct from 5-FU. The mechanism of action of raltitrexed is also completely different from that of oxaliplatin, irinotecan and other drugs with which it has been combined. These properties, together with preclinical data, suggested that combinations of raltitrexed with 5-FU, other chemotherapeutic agents, or radiotherapy could result in improved therapies for a variety of advanced solid tumours, including advanced CRC.

This review outlines the appropriate management of patients treated with raltitrexed, whether as monotherapy or in combination, and discusses the preliminary results of combination studies with raltitrexed in a range of tumour types including advanced CRC, malignant mesothelioma, gastric, pancreatic, head and neck, and non-small-cell lung cancers. Of particular interest is the combination of raltitrexed and oxaliplatin, which has shown promising antitumour effects in first-line treatment of advanced CRC and malignant mesothelioma, a disease that is refractory to chemotherapy.

Key words: colorectal cancer, 5-fluorouracil, mesothelioma, oxaliplatin, raltitrexed


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Mol. Pharmacol.Home page
L. Rothem, M. Stark, and Y. G. Assaraf
Impaired CREB-1 Phosphorylation in Antifolate-Resistant Cell Lines with Down-Regulation of the Reduced Folate Carrier Gene
Mol. Pharmacol., December 1, 2004; 66(6): 1536 - 1543.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Ann OncolHome page
J. Aparicio, J. M. Vicent, I. Maestu, S. Garcera, I. Busquier, C. Bosch, C. Llorca, R. Diaz, C. Fernandez-Martos, and A. Galan
Multicenter phase II trial evaluating a three-weekly schedule of irinotecan plus raltitrexed in patients with 5-fluorouracil-refractory advanced colorectal cancer
Ann. Onc., July 1, 2003; 14(7): 1121 - 1125.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.