Dr. Bekaii-Saab Discusses an Analysis of Bevacizumab or Cetuximab for CRC

Tanios Bekaii-Saab, MD, Section Chief, Gastrointestinal Oncology, associate professor, Internal Medicine, Pharmacology, The Ohio State University, discusses an analysis of two targeted drugs for the treatment of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC).

This seven-year national trial compared bevacizumab and cetuximab in combination with FOLFOX and FOLFIRI for CRC. While previous studies have shown that the combination of bevacizumab/chemotherapy and the combination of cetuximab/chemotherapy both improve outcomes, the two agents have never been compared head to head. This study is the first study to compare bevacizumab and cetuximab head to head.

Results from this large trial suggest no difference in overall survival or progression-free survival. One complexity of this trial was that the chemotherapy was one of choice, Bekaii-Saab says. Researchers on this trial also hypothesize that FOLFIRI is a better backbone.