ASCO 2022 | Anti-EGFR therapy for RAS wild-type left-sided colorectal cancer

Richard D. Kim, MD, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, discusses the Phase III PARADIGM trial (NCT02394795), the results of which were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2022 Annual Meeting. The study compared panitumumab versus bevacizumab in combination with mFOLFOX6 in patients with left-sided KRAS wild-type (WT) colorectal cancer (CRC). Based on the results of the Phase III FIRE-3 (NCT00433927) and CALGB/SWOG 80405 (NCT00265850) trials, which had demonstrated an improved overall-survival (OS) with anti-EGFR therapy in patients with RAS-WT left-sided CRC, anti-EGFR became first-line treatment for this patient population in Europe. The PARADIGM trial further demonstrated a benefit to anti-EGFR treatment, showing panitumumab with chemotherapy to be superior to bevacizumab plus chemotherapy, whereas previous trials had shown a detrimental effect of anti-EGFR to right-sided RAS-WT CRC. However, due to the associated toxicities with anti-EGFR therapy, it remains uncertain whether these results will change clinical practice in the USA where bevacizumab is the first-line treatment option for this patient population. This interview took place at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2022 Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL.