Dr. Kopetz on Safety Data From BEACON CRC Trial in BRAF V600E-Mutant mCRC

Scott Kopetz, MD, PhD, FACP, an associate professor in the Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, of the Division of Cancer Medicine at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the safety data reported from the phase 3 BEACON CRC trial in BRAF V600E-mutant metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).

Patients who enrolled on BEACON CRC were randomized to receive either encorafenib (Braftovi) plus cetuximab (Erbitux) and binimetinib (Mektovi), encorafenib plus cetuximab, or the investigator’s choice of irinotecan plus cetuximab or FOLFIRI (folinic acid, fluorouracil, and irinotecan hydrochloride) plus cetuximab in patients with BRAF V600E-mutant mCRC.

Overall, the safety data reported during the 2020 ASCO Virtual Scientific Program demonstrated that the regimens were well tolerated and consistent with the safety profiles previously reported, says Kopetz. Overall, the treatment discontinuation rate was low. However, numerically, a slightly higher rate of discontinuation was observed in the arm that included binimetinib; this was consistent with the control arm, adds Kopetz. Rates of notable, severe treatment-related AEs were very low, while the rate of patient compliance to the regimens was high, concludes Kopetz.