In the phase 3 ERMES study, treatment de-escalation was found to be ineffective in previously untreated, metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. The study compared the effectiveness of de-escalated treatment with FOLFIRI/cetuximab until progression. However, de-escalated treatment did not meet the noninferiority endpoint for progression-free survival, with a median PFS of 10.0 months compared to 12.2 months with FOLFIRI/cetuximab. The median overall survival was also not significantly different between the two treatment arms. Based on these results, the researchers concluded that FOLFIRI/cetuximab should be continued until disease progression or intolerance in this patient population. The study was supported by Merck Serono S.p.A.
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Treatment De-escalation Not Effective in Metastatic CRC
