# FOxTROT

Source: https://onco.cc/trials/foxtrot/  
OnCo record `foxtrot` (Trial). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

The UK trial that showed giving some chemotherapy before the operation for colon cancer shrinks the tumour, leaves cleaner margins and cuts the chance of the cancer coming back.

## Summary

FOxTROT allocated people with locally advanced but operable colon cancer 2:1 to six weeks of preoperative oxaliplatin and fluoropyrimidine chemotherapy or to the standard 24 weeks after surgery. Nearly all who started finished: 674 of 699 began the preoperative course and 606 completed it. Serious postoperative complications were fewer, not more. Resection was histopathologically complete in 94 percent against 89 percent (p < 0.001), and residual or recurrent disease within two years fell from 21.5 percent to 16.9 percent (rate ratio 0.72, 0.54 to 0.98, p = 0.037). Panitumumab added nothing, and mismatch repair deficient tumours gained little. The platform continues as FOxTROT 2 and 3 with the University of Leeds as sponsor, recruiting at 77 centres from Leeds and Glasgow to Velindre and Bangor.

## Fields

- Kind: Trial
- Status: positive
- Last checked: 2026-09-24
- Also known as: Fluoropyrimidine, Oxaliplatin and Targeted Receptor pre-Operative Therapy; ISRCTN83842641
- Tags: uk; neoadjuvant; colorectal; platform
- Registry id: ISRCTN83842641
- Phase: 3
- Setting: Six weeks of preoperative oxaliplatin-fluoropyrimidine chemotherapy plus 18 weeks after surgery, against 24 weeks after surgery alone, in radiologically staged T3-4 N0-2 M0 colon cancer, with a second randomisation to panitumumab in RAS wild-type tumours; the platform continues as FOxTROT 2 and 3 across 77 centres to April 2027
- Sponsor: University of Birmingham (original trial); University of Leeds (continuing platform)
- Enrolled: 1053
- Result: Residual or recurrent disease within two years 16.9 percent with six weeks of preoperative chemotherapy against 21.5 percent with postoperative chemotherapy alone (rate ratio 0.72, 0.54 to 0.98, p = 0.037); complete resection 94 percent against 89 percent.
- Outcomes: Residual or recurrent disease within 2 years: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy 16.9 percent vs Surgery first 21.5 percent

## Sources

- Journal of Clinical Oncology 2023: https://europepmc.org/article/MED/36657089
- Annals of Oncology 2025: the extended biomarker analysis: https://europepmc.org/article/MED/39805350
- ISRCTN83842641: https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN83842641

## Connected records

- cancers: [Colon cancer (adenocarcinoma of the colon)](https://onco.cc/cancers/colon-cancer/), [Colorectal cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/colorectal/)
- fronts: [Chemotherapy](https://onco.cc/fronts/chemotherapy/), [Surgery & Interventional](https://onco.cc/fronts/surgery/)
- technologies: [Cytotoxic chemotherapy](https://onco.cc/technologies/cytotoxic-chemotherapy/), [Platinum agents](https://onco.cc/technologies/platinum/)
- drugs: [CAPOX (capecitabine, oxaliplatin)](https://onco.cc/drugs/capox/), [Fluorouracil (5-FU)](https://onco.cc/drugs/fluorouracil/), [FOLFOX (5-FU, leucovorin, oxaliplatin)](https://onco.cc/drugs/folfox/), [Oxaliplatin](https://onco.cc/drugs/oxaliplatin/), [Panitumumab](https://onco.cc/drugs/panitumumab/)
- institutions: [Leeds Cancer Centre, St James's University Hospital](https://onco.cc/institutions/leeds-cancer-centre/), [University Hospitals Birmingham / University of Birmingham Cancer Research Centre](https://onco.cc/institutions/birmingham-cancer-centre/)
- terms: [Neoadjuvant / adjuvant / perioperative](https://onco.cc/terms/neoadjuvant-adjuvant/)
- trials: [NICHE-2](https://onco.cc/trials/niche-2/)
- people: [Dion Morton](https://onco.cc/people/dion-morton/), [Matt Seymour](https://onco.cc/people/matt-seymour/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/foxtrot.json