Maintenance Capecitabine Improved Progression-Free but Not Overall Survival in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer

Recent randomized trials have indicated that maintenance therapy after initial chemotherapy for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) may improve progression-free survival, with an unclear impact on overall survival. Proposed maintenance therapies include fluoropyrimidine monotherapy with or without a vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) or epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)–targeted agent.

Investigators in the U.K. report results from the multicenter, open-label, randomized FOCUS4-N trial comparing maintenance treatment with oral capecitabine versus observation alone after initial treatment with a fluorinated pyrimidine doublet regimen. Patients with mCRC were eligible after 16 weeks of therapy if they achieved a response or stable …