Trifluridine/Tipiracil and Regorafenib in Patients with Metastatic Colorectal Cancer: A Retrospective Study at a Tertiary Oncology Center

BackgroundTrifluridine/tipiracil (FTD/TPI) and regorafenib prolong survival for patients with refractory metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC); limited comparative effectiveness data exist.Materials and MethodsA retrospective, longitudinal cohort study of patients with mCRC who initiated FTD/TPI or regorafenib (index therapy) between 2012 and 2017 at a U.S. tertiary oncology center, Dana‐Farber Cancer Institute, was conducted. Using best tumor response assessments, real‐world overall response rates (rwORR) and disease control rates (rwDCR) were described and analyzed using logistic regression. Survival rate was examined for each month after index therapy using Kaplan‐Meier. Overall survival (OS) was assessed using Cox proportional hazards models. Subgroup analyses among patients with index therapy as second‐ or third‐line were performed.ResultsOne hundred twenty‐six and 95 patients were treated with FTD/TPI or regorafenib as index therapy, respectively. Patients treated with FTD/TPI versus regorafenib had a better response (rwORR 52.5% vs. 34.2%; adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 2.6; all p value <.05; rwDCR 64.2% vs. 46.1%; adjusted OR = 2.5; all p value <.05). Similar findings were observed for FTD/TPI versus regorafenib as second‐ or third‐line therapy (rwORR 54.8% vs. 25.9%; adjusted OR = 4.1; all p value <.05; rwDCR 69.0% vs. 37.0%; adjusted OR = 4.9; all p value <.05). A greater proportion of patients treated with FTD/TPI versus regorafenib survived at 3 months (86.2% vs. 73.4%; p value = .016) and 4 months (79.6% vs. 65.8%; p value = .017). Adjusted OS hazard ratio for FTD/TPI versus regorafenib was 0.80, p value = .157.ConclusionPatients treated with FTD/TPI had better tumor response and disease control than patients treated with regorafenib. Subgroup analysis in second‐ or third‐line suggests that early use of FTD/TPI may have clinical benefits.Implications for PracticeIn this retrospective cohort study, patients with refractory metastatic colorectal cancer treated with trifluridine/tipiracil (FTD/TPI) were significantly less likely than those treated with regorafenib to have dose modifications and more likely to have higher real‐world objective response rate (rwORR) and real‐world disease control rate (rwDCR) while treated. Patients treated with FTD/TPI versus regorafenib had significantly higher odds of having rwORR or rwDCR in adjusted analyses. Monthly survival rates were higher overall in patients treated with FTD/TPI versus regorafenib in the first 6 months of follow‐up, particularly at months 3 and 4. This study offers insight into patients'' treatment experience in real‐world clinical settings.