{"entity":{"id":"folfox-family","kind":"term","name":"FOLFOX, FOLFIRI, FOLFIRINOX and CAPOX","aka":["FOLFOX","mFOLFOX6","FOLFIRI","FOLFOXIRI","FOLFIRINOX","mFOLFIRINOX","modified FOLFIRINOX","CAPOX","XELOX","CAPEOX","NALIRIFOX","FOLFOX/CAPOX","fluoropyrimidine-based"],"tldr":"The standard chemotherapy recipes for bowel and pancreatic cancer, named from their ingredients: FOL (folinic acid) + F (5-fluorouracil) + OX (oxaliplatin), IRI (irinotecan), or both (FOLFIRINOX). CAPOX swaps the 5-FU infusion for capecitabine tablets.","summary":"FOLFOX or CAPOX for 3-6 months is adjuvant therapy for stage III colon cancer (IDEA showed 3 months suffices for low-risk disease); FOLFOX or FOLFIRI with an antibody (bevacizumab, or cetuximab/panitumumab for left-sided RAS wild-type) is first-line metastatic treatment, with FOLFOXIRI for fit patients needing maximal response. FOLFIRINOX (2011) and NALIRIFOX are the most active pancreatic regimens for fit patients, and FOLFOX is part of total neoadjuvant therapy for rectal cancer and of gastric and biliary regimens. Oxaliplatin causes cumulative cold-triggered neuropathy, irinotecan causes diarrhoea and neutropenia (UGT1A1-dependent).","asOf":"2026-09-09","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FOLFOX","links":[{"label":"Wikipedia","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FOLFOX"}],"tags":[],"related":["alkylating-agent","peripheral-neuropathy","total-neoadjuvant-therapy","chemotherapy-regimen"],"cancers":["colorectal","pancreatic","gastric"],"sections":["chemotherapy"],"technologies":[],"targets":[],"drugs":["oxaliplatin","irinotecan","fluorouracil"],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"category":"Treatment jargon"},"route":"/terms/folfox-family/","neighbours":{"term":[{"id":"alkylating-agent","kind":"term","name":"Alkylating agents and antimetabolites","route":"/terms/alkylating-agent/"},{"id":"colectomy","kind":"term","name":"Colectomy","route":"/terms/colectomy/"},{"id":"flot-term","kind":"term","name":"FLOT regimen (perioperative chemotherapy for gastric cancer)","route":"/terms/flot-term/"},{"id":"peripheral-neuropathy","kind":"term","name":"Peripheral neuropathy (chemotherapy-induced)","route":"/terms/peripheral-neuropathy/"},{"id":"chemotherapy-regimen","kind":"term","name":"Regimen and cycles","route":"/terms/chemotherapy-regimen/"},{"id":"total-neoadjuvant-therapy","kind":"term","name":"Total neoadjuvant therapy (TNT, rectal cancer)","route":"/terms/total-neoadjuvant-therapy/"}],"cancer":[{"id":"colorectal","kind":"cancer","name":"Colorectal cancer","route":"/cancers/colorectal/"},{"id":"gastric","kind":"cancer","name":"Gastric & gastro-oesophageal junction cancer","route":"/cancers/gastric/"},{"id":"pancreatic","kind":"cancer","name":"Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma","route":"/cancers/pancreatic/"}],"section":[{"id":"chemotherapy","kind":"section","name":"Chemotherapy","route":"/fronts/chemotherapy/"}],"drug":[{"id":"fluorouracil","kind":"drug","name":"Fluorouracil (5-FU)","route":"/drugs/fluorouracil/"},{"id":"irinotecan","kind":"drug","name":"Irinotecan (and liposomal irinotecan)","route":"/drugs/irinotecan/"},{"id":"oxaliplatin","kind":"drug","name":"Oxaliplatin","route":"/drugs/oxaliplatin/"}],"paper":[{"id":"paper-cremolini-tribe-folfoxiri-bevacizumab-lancet-oncol-2015","kind":"paper","name":"FOLFOXIRI plus bevacizumab versus FOLFIRI plus bevacizumab as first-line treatment of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer: updated overall survival and molecular subgroup analyses of TRIBE","route":"/key-papers/paper-cremolini-tribe-folfoxiri-bevacizumab-lancet-oncol-2015/"}],"roadmap":[{"id":"colorectal-roadmap","kind":"roadmap","name":"Colorectal cancer roadmap: from the adenoma-carcinoma sequence and the first screening trials to total mesorectal excision, oxaliplatin, RAS testing, immunotherapy for mismatch repair-deficient disease, ctDNA-guided treatment and organ preservation","route":"/roadmaps/colorectal-roadmap/"}]}}