Weekly treatment with irinotecan plus fluorouracil and leucovorin is superior to a widely used regimen of fluorouracil and leucovorin for metastatic colorectal cancer in terms of progression-free survival and overall survival.

Oral capecitabine was more active than 5-FU/LV in the induction of objective tumor responses. Time to disease progression and survival were at least equivalent for capecitabine compared with the 5-FU/LV arm. Capecitabine also demonstrated clinically meaningful benefits over bolus 5-FU/LV in terms of tolerability.

XELOX is noninferior to FOLFOX-4 when administered as second-line treatment in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.

No abstract

Cancer patients with multiple chronic conditions pose a unique challenge to how primary care and specialty care teams provide well-coordinated, patient-centered care. Effectiveness of these care teams in providing optimal healthcare depends on the extent to which they coordinate their goals and knowledge as components of a multi-team system (MTS). This paper outlines challenges of care coordination in the context of an MTS, illustrated through the care experience of Mr. Fuentes, a patient in Dallas County’s integrated safety-net system, Parkland. As a continuing patient with chronic illnesses, Mr. Fuentes is managed through one of Parkland’s community-oriented primary care clinics. However, a cancer diagnosis triggered additional needs for augmented coordination between his different provider teams. Further research and practice should investigate the relationships of MTS coordination for shared care management, transfer to and from specialty care, treatment compliance, barriers to care, and health outcomes of chronic co-morbid conditions, as well as cancer control and surveillance.