The European Commission (EC) has approved Roche’s chemotherapy drug Xeloda for treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer.

Xeloda (capecitabine) is approved for use with any chemotherapy in all lines of treatment, with or without the company’s Avastin (bevacizumab). It potentially can replace the previous standard IV chemotherapy in all colorectal cancer regimens, according to Jim Cassidy, chair of medical oncology at the University of Glasgow, Scotland. Cassidy was the lead investigator for one of the Xeloda trials presented to the European Medicines Agency.

Roche said the drug allows patients to have fewer clinic visits than standard IV chemotherapy, reducing hospital treatment time by 160 hours.