FOLFIRI plus BEvacizumab or aFLIbercept after FOLFOX-bevacizumab failure for COlorectal cancer (BEFLICO): An AGEO multicenter study

Int J Cancer. 2022 Dec 1;151(11):1978-1988. doi: 10.1002/ijc.34166. Epub 2022 Jul 14.

Abstract

After failure of first line FOLFOX-bevacizumab for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), adding either bevacizumab or aflibercept to second-line FOLFIRI increases survival compared to FOLFIRI alone. In this French retrospective multicentre cohort, we included patients with a mCRC treated with either FOLFIRI-aflibercept or FOLFIRI-bevacizumab. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS), and secondary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS), disease control rate (DCR: CR + PR + SD) and safety. We included 681 patients from 36 centers, 326 and 355 in the aflibercept and bevacizumab groups, respectively. Median age was 64.2 years and 45.2% of patients were men. Most patients had RAS-mutated tumors (80.8%) and synchronous metastases (85.7%). After a median follow up of 31.2 months, median OS was 13.0 months (95% CI: 11.3-14.7) and 10.4 months (95% CI: 8.8-11.4) in the bevacizumab and aflibercept groups, respectively (P < .0001). Median PFS was 6.0 months (95% CI: 5.4-6.5) and 5.1 months (95% CI: 4.3-5.6) (P < .0001). After adjustment on age, PS, PFS of first line, primary tumor resection, metastasis location and RAS/BRAF status, bevacizumab was still associated with better OS (HR: 0.71, 95% CI: 0.59-0.86, P = .0003). FOLFIRI-bevacizumab combination was associated with longer OS and PFS, and a better tolerability, as compared to FOLFIRI-aflibercept after progression on FOLFOX-bevacizumab.

Keywords: aflibercept; bevacizumab; chemotherapy; metastatic colorectal cancer.

Publication types

  • Multicenter Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / adverse effects
  • Bevacizumab / adverse effects
  • Camptothecin* / adverse effects
  • Colorectal Neoplasms* / drug therapy
  • Colorectal Neoplasms* / genetics
  • Female
  • Fluorouracil / adverse effects
  • Humans
  • Leucovorin / adverse effects
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf
  • Receptors, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins

Substances

  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins
  • aflibercept
  • Bevacizumab
  • Receptors, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf
  • Leucovorin
  • Fluorouracil
  • Camptothecin