Dr. Ruff on the Timing of CRC Treatment With Aflibercept

Paul Ruff, MD, director of Medical Oncology at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, discusses the decision regarding the timing of treatment with aflibercept for patients with colorectal cancer.

Paul Ruff, MD, director of Medical Oncology at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, discusses the decision regarding the timing of treatment with aflibercept for patients with colorectal cancer.

Some data has shown that if a patient’s chemotherapy backbone is changed but treatment with bevacizumab is continued, good results can be achieved. The decision to stay on bevacizumab or switch to aflibercept depends greatly on an individual patient, Ruff says.

In patients with slowly-progressing disease, it is worth continuing with bevacizumab to achieve the maximum benefit post-progression. In patients with more aggressive progression, it makes sense to switch to aflibercept earlier. Ruff says there is no data that compares the approaches directly.