Retrospective analysis of bevacizumab and cetuximab in advanced Asian colorectal cancer patients

Abstract

Colorectal cancer is a serious health problem that has concerned people for decades. In Hong Kong, it is the most common cancer and the second leading cause of death. Among colorectal cancer patients, around 40-50% of them will develop metastatic disease. Chemotherapy is playing an important role all the time in the treatment of advanced colorectal cancer. In the past decade, the application of targeted therapies in treatment has largely improved efficacy and prolonged survival. Bevacizumab and cetuximab are two commonly used targeted agents in daily clinical practice of Hong Kong. Since multiple clinical trials have studied bevacizumab and cetuximab in combination with other chemotherapies, limited data is available in Asian patients. Therefore, we conduct three 5-year retrospective analyses based on patients received treatment in Hong Kong Queen Mary Hospital, to investigate the clinical efficacy and toxicity of those two drugs. The first study examined the use of bevacizumab in treating KRAS mutated type patients. We found the efficacy and results were consistent with historical data. In the next analysis of cetuximab, comparable data were shown which suggested the consistency with previous studies. The last study is aim to compare bevacizumab and cetuximab in previously untreated wild-type KRAS patients. Identical response rates, progression-free survival and overall survival were finally reported.