fluorouracil + oxaliplatin + leucovorin

This refers to the specific total neoadjuvant therapy (TNT) regimen evaluated in the CAO/ARO/AIO-16 phase II trial, led by the University Hospital Tuebingen. The protocol involves a sequence of concurrent chemoradiotherapy (using fluorouracil and oxaliplatin) followed by consolidation chemotherapy with the FOLFOX regimen (fluorouracil, oxaliplatin, and leucovorin). This approach is designed for patients with locally advanced rectal cancer to maximize the rate of clinical complete response, thereby facilitating organ preservation through a watch-and-wait strategy and avoiding the morbidity of total mesorectal excision surgery. Fluorouracil is a pyrimidine analog that inhibits thymidylate synthase, oxaliplatin is a platinum-based agent that forms DNA crosslinks, and leucovorin enhances fluorouracil activity.

Other names

FOLFOX5-FU + oxaliplatin + leucovorin