5-fluarouracil-based chemotherapy has become a standard regimen for the treatment of advanced colorectal cancer (ACRC).1 Defined as the second line therapy for ACRC with 5-fluarouracil (5-Fu) plus leucovorin (LV) combined with oxaliplatin (OXA), the response rate (RR), progression-free survival (PFS)and overall survival (OS) were 21.2%, at 4.7 and 11.5 months, whereas RR, PFS and OS with 5-Fu plus LV combined with irinotecan (CPT-11) were 11.4%, at 3.2 and 12.2 months. There were no statistical difference between the two protocals.2,3 Those results may well suggest that some of these patients were resistant to 5-Fu. Therefore it is necessary to find a more effective regimen without 5-Fu to treat recurrent ACRC patients that were initially treated with 5-Fu. Our previous study showed that OXA can enhance the function of hydroxycamptothecine (HCPT) in inducing the apoptosis of a human colorectal cell line in vivo.4 So we chose OXA plus HCPT (OH) regimen to treat 28 patients with ACRC and compared RR, one-year survival rate, PFS, OS and main toxicities with a 5-Fu plus LV combined with OXA (OFL) regimen.