Objective: FOLFIRI is a standard chemotherapy regimen for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer. Although some studies have shown its efficacy in combination with bevacizumab as first-line chemotherapy, there are no data to support FOLFIRI plus bevacizumab as second-line chemotherapy in patients with this form of cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of FOLFIRI and bevacizumab as second-line chemotherapy in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.
Methods: Eligible patients were ≥20 years old, previously treated (except with irinotecan [CPT-11] and bevacizumab), with an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0, 1, or 2, and adequate organ function. Twenty-five eligible patients received FOLFIRI with bevacizumab at a dose of 10 mg/kg given intravenously on day 1. All therapy was administered every 2 weeks until disease progression. The primary endpoint was the response rate.
Results: Twenty-five patients were enrolled between February 2008 and March 2009. The median age was 62 (range 38-73) years, the male/female distribution was 20/5, 16 patients had performance status 0 and 9 had performance status 1, and the proportion of patients who were oxaliplatin pretreated/untreated was 16/9. The overall response rate was 32% (90% confidence interval [CI]: 17.0-50.4%), with 8 patients showing partial responses, 15 with stable disease, and 2 with disease progression. Median progression-free survival was 11.6 months (95% CI: 6.9-16.4). Median overall survival was 21.4 months (95% CI: 12.0-30.8). The grade 3/4 adverse events with treatment were neutropenia (64%), leukopenia (16%), diarrhea (8%), anorexia (8%), and febrile neutropenia (8%). The bevacizumab-related grade 3/4 adverse event was hypertension, which was observed in 12% of patients.
Conclusions: The FOLFIRI plus bevacizumab regimen is an active, well-tolerated second-line chemotherapy treatment for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.