Dr. Morris on the Design of the COBRA Trial in Stage II Colon Cancer

Van K. Morris, MD, assistant professor in the Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology of the Division of Cancer Medicine at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the design of the prospective phase 2/3 NRG-GI005 (COBRA) trial evaluating circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) as a predictive biomarker for adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with colon cancer.

The trial is enrolling patients with resected stage IIa colon cancer who have been deemed suitable for active surveillance per standard of care clinical practices, says Morris.

These patients do not often receive adjuvant chemotherapy as their prognosis is favorable and additional chemotherapy is not considered optimal, Morris adds.

Patients enrolled in the study are randomized to receive active surveillance or assay-directed therapy based on the presence or absence of ctDNA, Morris explains.

Patients with detectable ctDNA will receive 12 cycles of modified leucovorin/5-fluorouracil/oxaliplatin (mFOLFOX6) or 8 cycles of capecitabine and oxaliplatin (CAPOX) per physician’s choice.