Dr. Oberstein on the Current Treatment Landscape of CRC

Paul E. Oberstein, MD, associate professor, Department of Medicine, director, Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology Program, assistant director, Pancreatic Cancer Center, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, Perlmutter Cancer Center, NYU Langone Health, discusses the current treatment landscape of colorectal cancer (CRC).

For the majority of patients with CRC, multi-agent chemotherapy is administered in both the first- and second-line settings, Oberstein says. Depending on a patient’s mutational status, targeted agents could also be deployed in these settings, Oberstein says.

For patients who progress to the third line, single-agent regorafenib (Stivarga) and TAS-102 (trifluridine/tipiracil; Lonsurf) have demonstrated efficacy in randomized trials, Oberstein explains. However, there is no standard of care beyond the third line, and enrollment on clinical trials are highly encouraged, Oberstein adds.

More patients with CRC are being classified into subsets based on genetic markers, and these subsets can receive tailored therapy in earlier settings, Oberstein continues. The increase in biomarkers has allowed for more patients with mutations to be identified, and clinical trials plus more standardized testing have changed how treatment is tailored, Oberstein concludes.