FOLFIRI

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FOLFIRI is a chemotherapy regimen for the treatment of colorectal cancer. It consists of the following medicines:

• FOL - folinic acid (leucovorin), a vitamin B derivative used as a "rescue" drug for high doses of drug methotrexate, but increases the 5-fluorouracil cytotoxicity;
• F - fluorouracil (5-FU), pyrimidine and antimetabolite analogues that incorporate into the DNA molecule and stop synthesis; and
• IRI - irinotecan (Camptosar), a topoisomerase inhibitor, which prevents the DNA from curling and doubling.

Video FOLFIRI

Medical use

FOLFIRI is used for colorectal cancer and stomach cancer. FOLFIRI is effective in the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer, but has not been proven effective in adjuvant therapy in colon and rectal cancers.

Maps FOLFIRI

Regiment

The regimen consists of:

• irinotecan (180Ã, mg/mÃ,² IV over 90 minutes) along with folinic acid (400Ã, mg/mÃ,² [or 2 x 250Ã, mg/mÃ,²] IV for 120 minutes)
• followed by fluorouracil (400-500Ã, mg/mÃ,² IV bolus) and fluorouracil (intravenous infusion 2400-3000Ã,Âμg/mÃ,² for 46 hours).

This cycle is usually repeated every two weeks. The dosage shown above may vary from one cycle to another.

Combination

FOLFIRI is often combined with bevacizumab, aflibercept, cetuximab or panitumumab to improve the effectiveness and response rate.

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Adverse effects

In the short term, irinotecan causes diarrhea, which may be acute or delayed at onset. Long-term use of irinotecan can cause neutropenia.

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See also

• Dose-dose chemotherapy
• FOLFIRINOX
• FOLFOX
• FOLFOXIRI
• IFL

src: www.thelancet.com

References

Source of the article : Wikipedia