Single-center retrospective analysis of second-line treatment with regorafenib in patients with advanced colorectal cancer among the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abstract

e15552 Background: Regorafenib targets multiple tyrosine kinases that has been approved for the third-line treatment in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients in China. Here, We retrospectively analyzed the efficacy and safety of regorafenib alone or combined with chemotherapy/immunotherapy in the second-line treatment for those who cannot visit hospital for their chemotherapies because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Individual patient data from Peking University Third Hospital were analyzed retrospectively from January 2020 to September 2023. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS), and secondary endpoints were overall survival (OS) and safety. Results: The median age of 31 patients was 65 years, the median PFS was 6 months (1–21 months), and the median OS was 20 months (3–38 months). PFS tended to be prolonged with regorafenib plus capecitabine or immunotherapy in 12 subjects versus regorafenib alone in 19 subjects (8 months vs. 4 months, P = 0.306), with no statistical difference, and so did OS (27 months vs. 15 months, P = 0.899).The analysis of PFS (2.5 months vs. 7 months vs. 4 months, P = 0.164) and OS (13 months vs. 28 months vs. 20 months, p = 0.417) in patients with liver, lung, or abdominal/peritoneal metastases at the initiation of treatment demonstrated poor survival prognosis in patients with liver metastasis. Multivariate analysis showed that regorafenib combined with capecitabine or immunotherapy (wald = 5.766, p = 0.016) and non-liver metastasis (wald = 4.223, p = 0.040) were independent prognostic factors for PFS in the second-line treatment. Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) mainly included hand-foot skin reactions (HFSRs), fatigue, hypertension, and proteinuria, due to which 3 subjects discontinued the treatment. The incidence of Grade 3/4 ADRs was 19.3%, 16.9%, 12.9%, and 9.6%, respectively. Conclusions: Regorafenib alone or combined with chemotherapy/immunotherapy is safe and feasible in the second-line treatment for advanced colorectal cancer, and therefore further prospective studies can be conducted to explore combination therapies.