Dr. Bekaii-Saab on TAS-102 and Regorafenib in mCRC

Tanios Bekaii-Saab, MD, professor of medicine, Mayo Clinic, discusses the use of TAS-102 (Lonsurf) and regorafenib (Stivarga) in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).

Patients with refractory mCRC go through first- and second-line therapies, and sometimes third-line therapy. The question becomes what to do for patients who progress beyond second-line therapy. In the past, physicians had very few options, if any, for these patients. Now physicians have 2 oral options with regorafenib and TAS-102, says Bekaii-Saab.

These agents are different from each other, though they follow similar pathways. Regorafenib is a multikinase inhibitor, whereas TAS-102 is a more traditional cytotoxic agent that belongs to the family of fluoropyrimidines, explains Bekaii-Saab. It is not 5-fluorouracil or capecitabine, but it belongs to the same family, and can work when those 2 agents fail, states Bekaii-Saab.

Data on these agents come from separate studies—–RECOURSE and CORRECT––that have never been compared head-to-head. What physicians know about their activity comes primarily from their comparison to best supportive care.