Dr. Bekaii-Saab on Differences Between Regorafenib and TAS-102 in CRC

Tanios Bekaii-Saab, MD, professor of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, discusses regorafenib and TAS-102.

In colorectal cancer.

The landscape of colorectal cancer has been rapidly expanding, with several new agents now available in the refractory setting, says Bekaii-Saab. These include regorafenib and TAS-102.

Regorafenib is a targeted therapy, while TAS-102 is more of a traditional chemotherapy agent, says Bekaii-Saab. Both were looked at in studies compared to placebo in the refractory setting.

The two agents both improved outcomes versus placebo with similar magnitudes of improvement. They’ve never been compared head-to-head, but historically they seem to be similar, says Bekaii-Saab.

Their toxicity profiles are slightly different, he says. Regorafenib’s toxicities include hand-foot syndrome, diarrhea, and hypertension, which usually occur in the first 15 days.

TAS-102 has more traditional chemotherapy toxicities, such as neutropenia and fatigue.