The oral agent xaliproden, currently used for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, reduces the frequency of Grade 3-4 oxaliplatin-related neuropathy without reducing chemotherapeutic efficacy against advanced colorectal cancer, according to a presentation at the 2006 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.

“The research community has been seeking ways to combat the neurotoxic effects of oxaliplatin in order to use this drug to even greater effect, most notably for colorectal cancer,” said James Cassidy, MD, MSc, Cancer Research UK Professor of Oncology at Glasgow University in Scotland, and lead author of the study. “Our research supports this effort by showing that xaliproden reduces nerve problems in patients receiving oxaliplatin.”

Peripheral sensory neuropathy, a side effect of oxaliplatin, occurs in more than 90 percent of patients receiving the FOLFOX combination regimen (oxaliplatin, 5-fluorouracil, and leucovorin); more than 10 percent of patients report severe symptoms.

In the current randomized, double-blind phase III study, British researchers compared the incidence of severe neuropathy in 325 patients with metastatic colorectal cancer who received daily xaliproden along with FOLFOX treatment with symptoms in 324 patients who received FOLFOX alone. Severe peripheral sensory neuropathy was reported by 16.7 percent of patients in the FOLFOX group compared with 11.1 percent of patients who received FOLFOX plus xaliproden.

Dr. Cassidy and colleagues noted they are planning a larger clinical trial to extend and confirm their findings.