Abstract

e read the recent publications of Ychou et al. [1, 2] on ‘adjuvant’ irinotecan-based chemotherapy in high-risk localized colorectal cancer (CRC) and after resection of liver-confined metastatic disease with great interest. In contrast to the improved outcome provided by oxaliplatin-based adjuvant treatment of early-stage disease, there is now a body of evidence showing that the addition of irinotecan to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)/Leucovorin does not provide a benefit in this setting [1, 3]. The authors are to be congratulated for reporting the largest randomized trial of adjuvant treatment after resected colorectal liver metastases. Such trials have been historically difficult to accrue and it has …