Erlotinib for Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
Author Information
Author(s): Townsley C A, Major P, Siu L L, Dancey J, Chen E, Pond G R, Nicklee T, Ho J, Hedley D, Tsao M, Moore M J, Oza A M
Primary Institution: Princess Margaret Hospital, University of Toronto
Hypothesis
Can erlotinib effectively treat patients with metastatic colorectal cancer?
Conclusion
Erlotinib showed a stable disease rate of 39% in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, but no complete or partial responses were observed.
Supporting Evidence
- Of 31 evaluable patients, 19 (61%) had progressive disease and 12 (39%) had stable disease.
- The median time to progression for those with stable disease was 123 days.
- Erlotinib was well tolerated with common side effects being rash and diarrhoea.
- Statistically significant decreases in phosphorylated EGFR and ERK were observed post-treatment.
Takeaway
Doctors tested a medicine called erlotinib on people with a type of cancer that has spread, and while it helped some feel better for a while, it didn't cure anyone.
Methodology
Patients with metastatic colorectal cancer were treated with erlotinib and evaluated for response and side effects over a period of time.
Potential Biases
Potential bias due to the small sample size and the fact that many patients had prior treatments.
Limitations
Only a small number of patients had analyzable matched biopsies, which limited the correlative studies.
Participant Demographics
{"median_age":63.9,"gender_distribution":{"male":25,"female":13},"prior_treatments":{"adjuvant_chemotherapy":16,"metastatic_chemotherapy":32,"radiotherapy":12}}
Statistical Information
P-Value
0.008
Confidence Interval
95% CI 72.2, 96.5%
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Want to read the original?
Access the complete publication on the publisher's website