An oxaliplatin-based regimen is significantly more effective than the standard therapy for advanced colorectal cancer, according to interim results from a phase III study (N9741) presented at the 38th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) [Orlando, US; May 2002].1*Patients receiving the FOLFOX4**regimen, consisting of oxaliplatin ['Eloxatine'], fluorouracil and folinic acid [leucovorin] had a significantly greater mean survival duration, mean time to progression, and response rate, compared with those given the standard 'IFL' ['Saltz'] regimen of irinotecan ['Camptosar'], fluorouracil and folinic acid. Furthermore, patients treated with the FOLFOX4 regimen experienced fewer adverse events, compared with those receiving IFL. A third regimen evaluated in the study, the combination of oxaliplatin and irinotecan, was also more effective than IFL, but was not as effective or well tolerated as FOLFOX4.