Multicenter phase II study of infusional 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), leucovorin, and oxaliplatin, plus biweekly cetuximab as first-line treatment in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (CELINE trial)

Abstract

The current phase II study investigated the efficacy and safety of biweekly cetuximab combined with standard oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy [infusional 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), leucovorin, and oxaliplatin (FOLFOX-6)] in the first-line treatment of KRAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). Sixty patients with a median age of 64 years (range, 38-82 years) received a biweekly intravenous infusion of cetuximab (500 mg/m2 on day 1) followed by FOLFOX-6 (2-hour oxaliplatin 85 mg/m2 infusion on day 1 in tandem with a 2-h leucovorin 200 mg/m2 infusion on days 1 and 2, and 5-FU as a 400 mg/m2 bolus followed by a 46-hour 2,400 mg/m2 infusion on days 1-3). Patient response rate was 70%, with 95% disease control rates. The median progression-free survival was 13.8 months. Thirteen patients (21.7%) were able to undergo resection of previously unresectable metastases, with the aim of curing them. The median follow-up was 22.7 months, and median overall survival was 31.0 months. Cetuximab did not increase FOLFOX-6 toxicity and was generally well tolerated. The results of the current study demonstrate that the combination of biweekly cetuximab with FOLFOX-6 was well tolerated and had a manageable safety profile for the first-line treatment of KRAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer. Efficacy was comparable to other treatment regimens. The results support the administration of biweekly cetuximab in combination with FOLFOX-6, which may be more convenient and provide treatment flexibility in this setting for patients with metastatic colorectal cancers.