Cetuximab Plus Capecitabine Versus Capecitabine Alone In Elderly Patients With Previously Untreated Metastatic Colorectal Cancer

Objective To evaluate and compare the efficacy and toxicity of capecitabine plus cetuximab and capecitabine monotherapy in elderly patients with advanced colorectal cancer.Methods Thirty-six patients with histologically comfirmed advanced colorectal cancer during July 2011 to December 2014 in our hospital were included in this retrospective study(18 in capecitabine plus cetuximab group and 18 in capecitabine monotherapy group). Results were evaluated after at least four courses of chemotherapy in every patient.Results Seven(38.9%) patients in the capecitabine plus cetuximab group achieved an objective response(CR+PR) compared with 6(33.3%) in the capecitabine monotherapy group. Median time-to-progression was 8.3 months in the capecitabine plus cetuximab group and 5.1 months in the capecitabine monotherapy group(P<0.05). However, there was no significant difference in median overall survival between these two groups(17 months vs 16 months, P=0.65). The most common grade 3 or worse adverse events in both treatment groups were hand-foot syndrome, skin reaction and neutropenia. Compared two groups of differences mainly reflected on the skin reaction(P<0.05).Conclusions With significantly longer time-to-progression, capecitabine plus cetuximab could be the preferred regimen for patients with advanced colorectal cancer, while the toxicity of the combined regimen was also tolerable in elderly patients.