Trial of 5-Fluorouracil (5FU)-Based Therapy in Combination With Fruquintinib in Patients With Locally Advanced Unresectable or Metastatic Colorectal Cancer

Summary

This Phase II clinical trial at Houston Methodist Neal Cancer Center is evaluating the safety and efficacy of combining 5-Fluorouracil (5FU) -based chemotherapy (either FOLFIRI: folinic acid, 5FU, irinotecan; or mFOLFOX6: folinic acid, 5FU, oxaliplatin) with fruquintinib as a first-line treatment for patients with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic colorectal cancer. Fifty patients will receive treatment in 28-day cycles, with fruquintinib initially dosed at 4 mg daily and potentially increased to 5 mg if no significant toxicities are observed. After six months, patients showing stable disease or better will transition to a maintenance phase with 5FU and fruquintinib, continuing until disease progression or other discontinuation criteria are met. The primary endpoint is time to progression based on RECIST v1.1 criteria, while secondary endpoints include safety, tolerability, and duration of response. The trial is being conducted across multiple Houston Methodist hospitals and is currently the only first-line CRC trial available in the system. If successful, it could offer a new therapeutic option and inform future treatment guidelines for advanced colorectal cancer.

Timeline

Start

2026-01-27

Primary completion

2028-12

Completion

2029-12

Publications

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• Background Li J, Qin S, Xu RH, Shen L, Xu J, Bai Y, Yang L, Deng Y, Chen ZD, Zhong H, Pan H, Guo W, Shu Y, Yuan Y, Zhou J, Xu N, Liu T, Ma D, Wu C, Cheng Y, Chen D, Li W, Sun S, Yu Z, Cao P, Chen H, Wang J, Wang S, Wang H, Fan S, Hua Y, Su W. Effect of Fruquintinib vs Placebo on Overall Survival in Patients With Previously Treated Metastatic Colorectal Cancer: The FRESCO Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2018 Jun 26;319(24):2486-2496. doi: 10.1001/jama.2018.7855.
• Background Dasari A, Lonardi S, Garcia-Carbonero R, Elez E, Yoshino T, Sobrero A, Yao J, Garcia-Alfonso P, Kocsis J, Cubillo Gracian A, Sartore-Bianchi A, Satoh T, Randrian V, Tomasek J, Chong G, Paulson AS, Masuishi T, Jones J, Csoszi T, Cremolini C, Ghiringhelli F, Shergill A, Hochster HS, Krauss J, Bassam A, Ducreux M, Elme A, Faugeras L, Kasper S, Van Cutsem E, Arnold D, Nanda S, Yang Z, Schelman WR, Kania M, Tabernero J, Eng C; FRESCO-2 Study Investigators. Fruquintinib versus placebo in patients with refractory metastatic colorectal cancer (FRESCO-2): an international, multicentre, randomised, double-blind, phase 3 study. Lancet. 2023 Jul 1;402(10395):41-53. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(23)00772-9. Epub 2023 Jun 15.
• Background Mohelnikova-Duchonova B, Melichar B, Soucek P. FOLFOX/FOLFIRI pharmacogenetics: the call for a personalized approach in colorectal cancer therapy. World J Gastroenterol. 2014 Aug 14;20(30):10316-30. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i30.10316.
• Background Ishiguro M, Kotake K, Nishimura G, Tomita N, Ichikawa W, Takahashi K, Watanabe T, Furuhata T, Kondo K, Mori M, Kakeji Y, Kanazawa A, Kobayashi M, Okajima M, Hyodo I, Miyakoda K, Sugihara K. Study protocol of the B-CAST study: a multicenter, prospective cohort study investigating the tumor biomarkers in adjuvant chemotherapy for stage III colon cancer. BMC Cancer. 2013 Mar 25;13:149. doi: 10.1186/1471-2407-13-149.
• Background Reddy TP, Khan U, Burns EA, Abdelrahim M. Chemotherapy rechallenge in metastatic colon cancer: A case report and literature review. World J Clin Oncol. 2020 Nov 24;11(11):959-967. doi: 10.5306/wjco.v11.i11.959.
• Background Glimelius B, Stintzing S, Marshall J, Yoshino T, de Gramont A. Metastatic colorectal cancer: Advances in the folate-fluoropyrimidine chemotherapy backbone. Cancer Treat Rev. 2021 Jul;98:102218. doi: 10.1016/j.ctrv.2021.102218. Epub 2021 May 4.
• Background Vogel A, Hofheinz RD, Kubicka S, Arnold D. Treatment decisions in metastatic colorectal cancer - Beyond first and second line combination therapies. Cancer Treat Rev. 2017 Sep;59:54-60. doi: 10.1016/j.ctrv.2017.04.007. Epub 2017 May 4.
• Background Diez M, Teule A, Salazar R. Gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors: diagnosis and treatment. Ann Gastroenterol. 2013;26(1):29-36.
• Background Colucci G, Gebbia V, Paoletti G, Giuliani F, Caruso M, Gebbia N, Carteni G, Agostara B, Pezzella G, Manzione L, Borsellino N, Misino A, Romito S, Durini E, Cordio S, Di Seri M, Lopez M, Maiello E, Montemurro S, Cramarossa A, Lorusso V, Di Bisceglie M, Chiarenza M, Valerio MR, Guida T, Leonardi V, Pisconti S, Rosati G, Carrozza F, Nettis G, Valdesi M, Filippelli G, Fortunato S, Mancarella S, Brunetti C; Gruppo Oncologico Dell'Italia Meridionale. Phase III randomized trial of FOLFIRI versus FOLFOX4 in the treatment of advanced colorectal cancer: a multicenter study of the Gruppo Oncologico Dell'Italia Meridionale. J Clin Oncol. 2005 Aug 1;23(22):4866-75. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2005.07.113. Epub 2005 Jun 6.
• Background Bartsch F, Eberhard J, Ruckert F, Schmelzle M, Lehwald-Tywuschik N, Fichtner-Feigl S, Gaedcke J, Oldhafer KJ, Oldhafer F, Diener M, Mehrabi A, Settmacher U, Becker T, Keck T, Friess H, Strucker B, Opitz S, Lemke J, Schnitzbauer A, Lang H; German ICC Collaboration Group. Repeated resection for recurrent intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: A retrospective German multicentre study. Liver Int. 2021 Jan;41(1):180-191. doi: 10.1111/liv.14682.

Drugs

Indications