Durable response using regorafenib in an elderly patient with metastatic colorectal cancer: case report

Ethics

Verbal consent was obtained from the patient prior to her departing our facility for hospice care. The patient’s identification has been protected and any information which could potentially be used to reveal the identity of the patient has been removed.

Conclusion

We reported on a case of an elderly woman with KRAS wild-type, refractory metastatic colon cancer who has received multiple chemotherapy regimens, most recently regorafenib for 11 months with minimal side effects and palliation of symptoms.

The report shows that regorafenib can provide a decrease in tumor burden and improve quality of life with prolonged survival if an appropriate dose is used in terms of balancing side effects with benefits of symptom palliation.

Moreover, the report shows that continuing therapy beyond disease progression is no longer an absolute contraindication. This case report additionally demonstrates that close and frequent follow-ups by the primary oncologist is needed in order to monitor side effects and to find the effective and tolerable dose.

In the CORRECT study, the frequency of adverse events was shown to peak during the first cycle and gradually taper off with subsequent cycles.⁸

This report suggests that regorafenib can be a viable option for patients who still have a good performance status and have progressed through other regimens. Importantly, patient and financial support services are in place through the REACH program to help patients manage the cost of this therapy.

Ronald Tang¹ Tatiana Kain² June Herman² Tara Seery¹

¹Division of Hematology-Oncology, ²Division of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, University of California, Irvine, Orange, CA, US

Acknowledgments

Editorial support for this paper was provided by Precept Medical Communications (Warren, NJ, USA). Funding for editorial support was provided by Bayer HealthCare (Whippany, NJ, USA).

Correspondence

Correspondence: Tara Seery Division of Hematology-Oncology, UC Irvine Health, 101 The City Drive South, Orange, CA 92868, USA, Tel +1 714 456 5153, Fax +1 714 456 7142, Email [email protected]

Disclosure

Tara Seery has received compensation from Bayer HealthCare and Celgene for participation in Advisory Board meetings. The authors report no other conflicts of interest.