Update in cancer chemotherapy: gastrointestinal cancer--colorectal cancer, Part 2.

An update of the state of the art of cancer chemotherapeutic treatment of gastrointestinal tract cancer is described in a multi-part series. Part 1 surveyed colorectal cancer and the use of single-agent chemotherapy in the April issue of the Journal. Part 2 of colorectal cancer will describe combination chemotherapy, preoperative and postoperative radiation, and combinations of chemotherapy and radiation, and adjuvant chemotherapy.In advanced gastrointestinal tract cancer, chemotherapy is only of palliative value with response rates generally under 50 percent and survival rates of several months to one year or more. Combination chemotherapy often produces higher response rates, yet there is no acceptable evidence that survival is improved. While some adjuvant chemotherapy trials suggest improvement, major survival gains remain to be demonstrated. Uncertainty as to the role of chemotherapy in the treatment of gastrointestinal cancers may be due to lack of data.