FTD-TPI plus bevacizumab found to increase survival in refractory advanced CRC

Treatment with trifluridine-tipiracil (FTD-TPI) plus bevacizumab yields longer overall survival than FTD-TPI alone among patients with refractory metastatic colorectal cancer, according to a study published in the May 4 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Gerald W. Prager, M.D., from the Medical University of Vienna, and colleagues randomly assigned adult patients who had received no more than two previous chemotherapy regimens for treatment of advanced colorectal cancer to receive FTD-TPI plus bevacizumab (combination group) or FTD-TPI alone (246 patients assigned to each group).

The researchers found that the median overall survival was 10.8 and 7.5 months in the combination and FTD-TPI groups, respectively (hazard ratio for death, 0.61). Median progression-free survival was 5.6 and 2.4 months in the combination group and FTD-TPI alone group, respectively (hazard ratio for disease progression or death, 0.44). In both groups, the most common adverse events were neutropenia, nausea, and anemia. There were no reports of treatment-related deaths. The median time to worsening of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance-status score from 0 or 1 to 2 or greater was 9.3 and 6.3 months in the combination and the FTD-TPI groups, respectively (hazard ratio, 0.54).

"The data from this trial confirm that FTD-TPI plus bevacizumab is an effective treatment option for patients with refractory metastatic colorectal cancer, irrespective of mutational status, which side the tumor is on, and whether patients have previously been treated with bevacizumab," the authors write.

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