Efficacy of trifluridine and tipiracil (TAS-102) versus placebo, with supportive care, in a randomized, controlled trial of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer from Spain: results of a subgroup analysis of the phase 3 RECOURSE trial

PURPOSE: TAS-102 is a combination of the thymidine-based nucleoside analog trifluridine and the thymidine phosphorylase inhibitor tipiracil. Efficacy and safety of TAS-102 in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) refractory or intolerant to standard therapies were evaluated in the phase 3 RECOURSE trial. Results of RECOURSE demonstrated significant improvement in overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) with TAS-102 versus placebo [hazard ratio (HR) = 0.68 and 0.48 for OS and PFS, respectively; both P < 0.001]. The current analysis evaluates efficacy and safety of TAS-102 in the RECOURSE Spanish subgroup. METHODS: Primary and key secondary endpoints were evaluated in a post hoc analysis of the RECOURSE Spanish subgroup, using univariate and multivariate analyses. Safety and tolerability were reported with descriptive statistics. RESULTS: The RECOURSE Spanish subgroup included 112 patients (mean age 61 years, 62 % male). Median OS was 6.8 months in the TAS-102 group (n = 80) versus 4.6 months in the placebo group (n = 32) [HR = 0.47; 95 % confidence interval (CI): 0.28–0.78; P = 0.0032). Median PFS was 2.0 months in the TAS-102 group and 1.7 months in the placebo group (HR = 0.47; 95 % CI: 0.30–0.74; P = 0.001). Eighty (100 %) TAS-102 versus 31 (96.9 %) placebo patients had adverse events (AEs). The most common drug-related ≥Grade 3 AE was neutropenia (40 % TAS-102 versus 0 % placebo). There was 1 (1.3 %) case of febrile neutropenia in the TAS-102 group versus none in the placebo group. CONCLUSIONS: In the RECOURSE Spanish subgroup, TAS-102 was associated with significantly improved OS and PFS versus placebo, consistent with the overall RECOURSE population. No new safety signals were identified. CLINICALTRIALS.GOV STUDY NUMBER: NCT01607957