This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) eLetters: Submit a response to this article Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services E-mail this article link to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints/Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Saltz, L. B. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Saltz, L. B.

Clinical Use of Irinotecan:Current Status and Future Considerations

Gastrointestinal Oncology Service, Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, USA

Correspondence: Leonard B. Saltz, M.D., Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue, New York, New York 10021, USA. Telephone: 212-639-2501; Fax: 212-794-7186; e-mail: saltzl{at}mskcc.org

Irinotecan (CPT-11, Camptosar), a semisynthetic, water-soluble derivative of the plant alkaloid camptothecin, is a drug which has undergone extensive clinical investigation worldwide. It is, at this time, commercially available in the United States for the treatment of fluorouracil-refractory colorectal cancer. In this review, I will discuss the current approved clinical use, discuss the issues of toxicity and its management, and consider some of the ongoing clinical investigations which are exploring possible future uses for this agent.

Key Words. Irinotecan • CPT-11 • Topoisomerase I inhibitor • Colorectal cancer

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. Xie, D. Yang, L. Liu, B. Xue, and B. Yan Human and Rodent Carboxylesterases: Immunorelatedness, Overlapping Substrate Specificity, Differential Sensitivity to Serine Enzyme Inhibitors, and Tumor-Related Expression Drug Metab. Dispos., May 1, 2002; 30(5): 541 - 547. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. Yang, Y. Li, X. Yuan, L. Matoney, and B. Yan Regulation of Rat Carboxylesterase Expression by 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD): A Dose-Dependent Decrease in mRNA Levels but a Biphasic Change in Protein Levels and Activity Toxicol. Sci., November 1, 2001; 64(1): 20 - 27. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				W. Zhu, L. Song, H. Zhang, L. Matoney, E. LeCluyse, and B. Yan Dexamethasone Differentially Regulates Expression of Carboxylesterase Genes in Humans and Rats Drug Metab. Dispos., February 1, 2000; 28(2): 186 - 191. [Abstract] [Full Text]