Toxicity of FOLFOX versus XELOX as Chemotherapy for Metastatic Colorectal Cancer: a Meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE To compare toxicities of fluorouracil/folinic acid plus oxaliplatin(FOLFOX) versus capecitabine plus oxaliplatin (XELOX) as chemotherapy for metastatic colorectal cancer. METHODS PubMed database, EMbase database, Cochrane, CNKI database and ASCO meeting article were searched, and a meta-analysis was conducted. RESULTS Ten studies involving 4 084 patients were included for systematic reviews of toxicity. The incidence of neutropenia (RR=0.24, 95% CI: 0.14-0.41, P<0.000 1) was higher in FOLFOX group, hand-foot syndrome (RR=3.60, 95% CI: 2.27-5.72, P<0.000 1) and thrombocytopenia(RR=1.83, 95% CI: 1.36-2.48, P<0.000 1) was higher in XELOX group. Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and neuropathy were not significantly different between the two groups(P>0.05). CONCLUSION In metastatic colorectal cancer patients, FOLFOX and XELOX have their own advantages and disadvantages concerning with toxic reactions.