Tumor response of FOLFOXIRI plus cetuximab versus bevacizumab in RAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer: The subgroup-analysis of DEEPER trial (JACCRO CC-13).

Abstract

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Background: Triplet regimen, FOLFOXIRI, combined with bevacizumab (bev) or panitumumab has been shown to be superior in terms of early tumor shrinkage and depth of response (DpR) compared to doublet combinations in patients with RAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). We performed a randomized phase II study, DEEPER trial (JACCRO CC-13)[NCT02515734], to investigate the efficacy and safety of cetuximab (cet) vs. bevacizumab (bev) in combination with modified (m)-FOLFOXIRI (irinotecan 150 mg/m ², oxaliplatin 85 mg/m ², 5-FU 2400 mg/m ²) in previously untreated mCRC patients with RAS wild-type tumors (Tsuji A, et al. ASCO 2021). Methods: The primary endpoint was DpR during the entire course. Secondary endpoints included overall response rate (ORR), disease control rate, R0 resection rate, progression-free survival, and overall survival. A post-hoc subgroup analysis by PS, tumor sidedness, age, and location of metastases was performed to evaluate the efficacy of triplet plus cet vs. bev regimen. Results: A total of 359 patients were enrolled between July 2015 and June 2019. For the full analysis set (median age 65y, 64% male, PS0/1: 91%/9%, left/right primary: 83%/17%), 173 and 175 patients were randomly assigned to the cet and bev arms, respectively. Median DpR was 57.4% vs. 46.0% ( p = 0.001), and the ORR was 69.1% vs. 71.7% ( p = 0.60), in cet vs. bev, respectively. The subgroup analysis was present in the table. There was no significant difference in terms of ORR and R0 resection rate between groups according to PS, tumor sidedness, age, and liver metastases (LM). In patients with only LM, the R0 resection rate of cet vs. bev was 25.0% vs. 14.8% ( p = 0.21). Conclusions: The m-FOLFOXIRI plus cet showed to be significantly superior to the m-FOLFOXIRI plus bev in terms of DpR in first-line treatment for RAS wild-type mCRC. The better DpR of m-FOLFOXIRI plus cet was evident for RAS wild-type mCRC patients with left-sided tumors, LM or under 70 years old. Clinical trial information: UMIN000018217.[Table: see text]