Dr. Hochster on the Safety Analysis of TAS-102 in CRC and Gastric/GEJ Cancer

Howard Hochster, MD, FACP, associate director for clinical research and director, Gastrointestinal Oncology, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, director of oncology research, RWJBarnabas Health, discusses the safety analysis of TAS-102 (trifluridine/tipiracil; Lonsurf) in metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) and metastatic gastric/gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancer.

These data, presented in a poster session at the 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting, relate to the use of TAS-102, which is now FDA approved in CRC and gastric/GEJ cancer. The approvals in CRC and gastric/GEJ cancer are based on the phase III RECOURSE and the phase III TAGS trials, respectively.

In the TAGS trial, TAS-102 led to a survival advantage for patients who had been previously treated with 1 or 2 prior regimens. In the RECOURSE trial, a survival advantage was seen among patients who had exhausted all standard chemotherapy drugs, explains Hochster. In this analysis, safety data from both studies were pooled and appeared consistent. The main toxicity was grade 2/3 neutropenia. There were low levels of febrile neutropenia and very little additional toxicity. These data suggest that the drug can be used in gastric/GEJ cancer as in CRC with similar toxicity management strategies, concludes Hochster.