Capecitabine and Oxaliplatin in Treating Older Patients With Metastatic Colorectal Cancer

OBJECTIVES: Primary * Determine the efficacy of capecitabine and oxaliplatin as first-line treatment, as defined by stabilization or improvement by 1 point on Katz's Activities of Daily Living scale, in older patients with metastatic colorectal adenocarcinoma. Secondary * Determine the toxicity of this regimen in these patients. * Determine the percentage of patients who receive the first 3 courses of this regimen (at lower doses) and the percentage of patients who receive all 6 courses of this regimen (at both lower and higher doses). * Determine efficacy of this regimen, as defined by RECIST criteria, in these patients. * Determine the pharmacokinetics of this regimen in these patients. OUTLINE: This is a multicenter, open-label, nonrandomized study. Patients receive oral capecitabine\* once daily on days 1-14 and oxaliplatin\* IV on day 1. Treatment repeats every 21 days for up to 6 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. NOTE: \*The doses of both capecitabine and oxaliplatin are increased in courses 4-6 in the absence of unacceptable toxicity PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 60 patients will be accrued for this study.