Impact of chronological age on efficacy and safety of fluoropyrimidine plus bevacizumab in older non-frail patients with metastatic colorectal cancer: a combined analysis of individual data from two phase II studies of patients aged >75 years

OBJECTIVE

Many clinical trials for older patients with metastatic colorectal cancer have been conducted, and fluoropyrimidine and bevacizumab are standard treatments. However, the relationship between age and the efficacy and safety of this treatment is unclear in older metastatic colorectal cancer patients.

METHODS

Individual data from two phase II studies on older (≥75 years), non-frail patients with metastatic colorectal cancer treated with uracil-tegafur/leucovorin or S-1 combined with bevacizumab were collected. Patient characteristics were evaluated with multiple regression analyses for survival outcomes, using the Cox proportional hazard model and linear regression analyses for the worst grade of adverse events.

RESULTS

We enrolled 102 patients with a median age of 80 years (range, 75-88 years). Of the 70 patients who died, seven (10%) died of causes unrelated to disease or treatment. The study treatment was discontinued due to adverse events in 19 patients (18.6%), with 63% aged ≥85 years. The adverse event that most commonly resulted in treatment discontinuation was grade 2 fatigue (21%). Chronological age was not associated with progression-free survival (Hazard ratio, 1.03; P = 0.40) or overall survival (Hazard ratio, 1.02; P = 0.65). Age was weakly associated with non-hematologic adverse events (regression coefficient [R], 0.27; P = 0.007), especially fatigue (R, 0.23; P = 0.02) and nausea (R, 0.19; P = 0.06), but not with hematologic (R, 0.05; P = 0.43) or bevacizumab-related (R, -0.06; P = 0.56) adverse events.

CONCLUSIONS

The efficacy of fluoropyrimidine plus bevacizumab was age-independent in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer aged ≥75 years, and attention should be paid to non-hematologic adverse events as age increases.

Oncologic Outcome and Efficacy of Chemotherapy in Colorectal Cancer Patients Aged 80 Years or Older

Purpose: The present study aimed to evaluate the oncologic outcomes of patients 80 years or older compared with younger patients, and we then further investigated the efficacy of chemotherapy in individuals 80 years or older. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted using the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results database. The χ² test was used to analyze the different clinicopathologic and demographic variables between 65- and 79-year and ≥80-year groups. Kaplan-Meier analysis and log-rank testing were used to compare colorectal cancer (CRC)-specific survival (CCSS) curves between different groups. Multivariate and univariate Cox proportional hazards models with hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were also used to assess CCSS and OS. Results: A total of 189,926 patients were included in our study. Compared with 65- to 79-year-old patients, age 80 years or older was associated with 48.4% increased CRC-specific mortality (HR = 1.484, 95% CI = 1.453-1.516, P < 0.0001; using 65-79 years old as the reference). Moreover, not receiving chemotherapy was significantly associated with an increased risk of CRC-related death, independent of other prognostic factors (HR = 0.615, 95% CI = 0.589-0.643, P < 0.0001) in individuals 80 years or older. Conclusions: This large population-based study showed that older age was associated with worse oncologic outcomes compared to younger age. Chemotherapy could offer survival benefit for very old patients diagnosed with CRC, and we strongly believed that very old patients were undertreated in the present medical practices.

Phase II study of S-1 on alternate days plus bevacizumab in patients aged ≥ 75 years with metastatic colorectal cancer (J-SAVER)

BACKGROUND

Alternate-day administration of S-1 is thought to reduce toxicities. This phase II study evaluated S-1 on alternate days combined with bevacizumab as first-line treatment for elderly patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Eligible patients had histologically proven colorectal adenocarcinoma, measurable metastatic lesions, age ≥ 75 years, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status ≤ 1, no previous chemotherapy, and refused oxaliplatin- or irinotecan-containing regimens. Patients received 40 mg, 50 mg, or 60 mg (body surface area ≤ 1.25 m², > 1.25 to ≤ 1.50 m², or > 1.50 m², respectively) of S-1 twice orally on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday every week. Bevacizumab (7.5 mg/kg) was administered every 3 weeks. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival.

RESULTS

Of 54 enrolled patients, 50 patients were evaluated for efficacy and 53 for safety. The median age was 79 years (range 75-88 years). The median progression-free survival was 8.1 months (95% confidence interval (CI) 6.7-9.5 months). The median overall survival was 23.1 months (95% CI 17.4-28.8 months). The response rate was 44% (95% CI 30.2-57.8%), and the disease control rate was 88% (95% CI 79.0-97.0%). Grade 3 or higher hematologic, non-hematologic, and bevacizumab-related adverse events occurred in 9%, 11%, and 25% of patients, respectively. The most common grade 3 and 4 treatment-related adverse events were hypertension (11%), nausea (6%), fatigue (6%), anemia (6%), and proteinuria (6%). Only 6 patients discontinued treatment due to adverse events.

CONCLUSION

S-1 on alternate days combined with bevacizumab showed better tolerability and comparable survival compared with the results of similar studies.

Oncologic outcome of colorectal cancer patients over age 80: a propensity score-matched analysis

PURPOSE

It remains unclear whether old age is a poor prognostic factor in colorectal cancer (CRC). We compared oncologic outcomes in CRC patients according to age, using 80 as the dividing point.

METHODS

CRC patients who underwent radical surgery from 2000 to 2011 were evaluated. We performed matched and adjusted analyses comparing oncologic outcomes between patients with ≥ 80 and < 80 years old.

RESULTS

Among 9562 patients, 222 were elderly. The median age was 82.0 years in elderly patients and 59.0 years in young patients. Elderly patients received less neoadjuvant or adjuvant therapy compared to young patients (p < 0.001). After recurrence, significantly fewer elderly patients received additional treatments (p < 0.001). Before matching, disease-free survival (DFS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) were significantly lower for elderly patients compared to those for young patients (p < 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively). After matching, DFS and CCS were not significantly different between the two groups (p = 0.400 and p = 0.267, respectively). In a multivariate analysis for prognostic factors, old age was not an independent poor prognostic factor of DFS and CCS (p = 0.619 and p = 0.137, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

Elderly patients aged ≥ 80 years with CRC had similar oncologic outcome to young patients, and age was not an independent prognostic factor.

Capecitabine in the routine first-line treatment of elderly patients with advanced colorectal cancer--results from a non-interventional observation study

Background

The purpose of this observational study was to evaluate feasibility, efficacy results and toxicity observations of capecitabine in routine first line treatment of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, with particular regard of elderly patients (>75 years of age).

Methods

Patients with colorectal cancer receiving capecitabine as part of their first-line treatment were recorded until detection of disease progression or up to a maximum of 12 cycles on standardized evaluation forms. Additional information on long-term outcomes, progression-free survival, and overall survival were retrieved at two follow-up time points. Obtained data were analyzed with regard to age up to 75 and >75 years of age. There were no specific requirements for patient selection and conduct of therapy, corresponding to the non-interventional nature of the study.

Results

In total, 1249 evaluable patients were enrolled in Germany. The median age of the study population was 74 years (range: 21–99). Capecitabine-based combination was administered in 56 % of patients in the overall population. The median treatment duration was about 5 months. Severe toxicities occurred rarely without any difference regarding age groups. The most common hematological toxicity was anemia. Gastrointestinal side effects and hand-food-syndrome (HFS) were the most frequent non-hematologic toxicities. Overall response rate (ORR) was significantly higher in the patient group <=75 years compared to patients >75 years of age (38 vs. 32 %, p=0.019). Median progression free survival (PFS 9.7 vs. 8.2 months, p=0.00021) and overall survival (OS 31.0 vs. 22.6 months, p<0.0001) was decreased in elderly patients.

Conclusion

Efficacy and tolerability of capecitabine treatment either as single drug or in various combination regimens, as proven in randomized studies, could be confirmed in a clinical routine setting. Patients older than 75 years may derive a relevant benefit by first line capecitabine-based treatment with good tolerability.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12885-016-2113-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.