Erbitux improves survival of mCRC patients with KRAS wild-type tumors

Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, today announced that Erbitux^® (cetuximab) provided an improvement in overall survival (OS) when added to the standard 1^st-line FOLFIRI chemotherapy regimen for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients with KRAS wild-type tumors in the CRYSTAL study. In addition, the final results from this study included an analysis of the predictive value of BRAF status on Erbitux efficacy – one of the first to be based on a large subgroup>st-line setting. The analysis indicates that patients with KRAS wild-type tumors bearing a BRAF mutation also benefit from Erbitux treatment; therefore, KRAS remains the only validated, clinically predictive marker of responsiveness to this drug. These study results were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s 2010 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium (ASCO-GI) in Orlando.

“The identification of the KRAS biomarker has revolutionized the treatment of this disease, allowing patients to receive the most suitable treatment for their disease and resulting in improved outcomes.”

“It is clear that overall survival is a critically important outcome in metastatic colorectal cancer, so it is extremely rewarding to achieve this result in patients with KRAS wild-type tumors,” commented Professor Claus-Henning Köhne, Head of the Department of Oncology and Hematology, Klinikum Oldenburg, Germany, who presented the results of a pooled analysis of the CRYSTAL and OPUS trials today. “The analysis indicating that BRAF is not predictive for Erbitux efficacy is also of interest, as it confirms the current role of KRAS as the only clinically predictive biomarker for Erbitux.”