Trial Information

Identifying an Early Indicator of Drug Efficacy in Patients With Advanced Colorectal Cancer - a Prospective Evaluation of Circulating Tumor Cells, Positron-emission Tomography Scan and RECIST Criteria

1. To determine if measuring both tumor metabolic response (via FDG-PET scan) &
circulating tumor cells (CirTC) at 4 weeks after starting treatment, is a better
predictor of clinical outcome than measuring either modality alone in patients with
metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) who are undergoing first-line oxaliplatin-based
chemotherapy.

2. To determine if a new method of assessing drug response (measuring tumor metabolic
response via FDG-PET & CirTC at 4 weeks after starting treatment) better predicts
clinical outcome than the conventional method (measuring radiological changes in tumor
dimensions at 10 weeks after starting treatment via the 'Response Evaluation Criteria
in Solid Tumors' - RECIST).