1. FOLFIRI plus cetuximab or bevacizumab for advanced colorectal cancer: final survival and per-protocol analysis of FIRE-3, a randomised clinical trial.
- Author
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Heinemann V, von Weikersthal LF, Decker T, Kiani A, Kaiser F, Al-Batran SE, Heintges T, Lerchenmüller C, Kahl C, Seipelt G, Kullmann F, Moehler M, Scheithauer W, Held S, Miller-Phillips L, Modest DP, Jung A, Kirchner T, and Stintzing S
- Subjects
- Adult, Aged, Camptothecin therapeutic use, Colorectal Neoplasms genetics, Colorectal Neoplasms mortality, Colorectal Neoplasms pathology, Drug Administration Schedule, Fluorouracil therapeutic use, Genes, ras, Humans, Intention to Treat Analysis, Leucovorin administration & dosage, Leucovorin therapeutic use, Middle Aged, Progression-Free Survival, Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols therapeutic use, Bevacizumab therapeutic use, Camptothecin analogs & derivatives, Cetuximab therapeutic use, Colorectal Neoplasms drug therapy
- Abstract
Background: Cetuximab plus FOLFIRI improved overall survival compared with bevacizumab plus FOLFIRI in KRAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) in FIRE-3, but no corresponding benefit was found for progression-free survival. This analysis aimed to determine whether cetuximab improves response and survival versus bevacizumab among response-evaluable patients receiving first-line FOLFIRI for RAS wild-type mCRC and the effect of primary tumour side on outcomes., Methods: The intent-to-treat population included 593 patients with KRAS exon 2 wild-type mCRC. Further testing identified 400 patients with extended RAS wild-type disease; of these, 352 (88%) who received ≥3 cycles of therapy and had ≥1 post-baseline scan were evaluable for response and constituted the per-protocol population (169 cetuximab and 183 bevacizumab). Patients received 5-fluorouracil, folinic acid and irinotecan (FOLFIRI) with either weekly cetuximab or biweekly bevacizumab given on day 1 of each 14-day cycle until response, progression or toxicity occurred. The primary endpoint was the objective response rate (ORR) in the per-protocol population. Secondary endpoints included overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). The effect of primary tumour location was evaluated., Results: Median OS in the RAS wild-type population was 31 vs 26 months in the cetuximab and bevacizumab groups, respectively (HR 0.76, P = 0.012). In the per-protocol population, outcomes favoured cetuximab for ORR (77% vs 65%, P = 0.014) and median OS (33 vs 26 months, HR 0.75, P = 0.011), while PFS was comparable between groups. The advantage of cetuximab over bevacizumab occurred only in patients with left-sided primary tumours., Conclusions: FOLFIRI plus cetuximab resulted in a significantly higher ORR and longer OS compared to FOLFIRI plus bevacizumab among patients with left-sided tumours. The superior response associated with cetuximab may particularly benefit patients with symptomatic tumours or borderline-resectable metastases. CLINICALTRIALS., Gov Identifier: NCT00433927.
- Published
- 2021
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