FOLFIRI

FOLFIRI is a chemotherapy regimen for treatment of colorectal cancer. It is made up of the following drugs:

FOL – folinic acid, a vitamin B derivative with multiple applications, which in this context decreases the cytotoxicity of 5-fluorouracil;
F – fluorouracil, a pyrimidine analog and antimetabolite which incorporates into the DNA molecule and stops synthesis; and
IRI – irinotecan, a topoisomerase inhibitor, which prevents DNA from uncoiling and duplicating.

Medical uses

FOLFIRI is used for colorectal cancer and gastric cancer. FOLFIRI is effective in the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer, but it has not been shown to be effective in the adjuvant therapy of colon and rectal cancer.

The regimen consists of:

This cycle is typically repeated every two weeks. The dosages shown above may vary from cycle to cycle.

In the short term, irinotecan causes diarrhea, which may be acute or delayed in onset. Long term use of irinotecan may lead to neutropenia.