Regorafenib as Salvage Treatment in Korean Patients with Refractory Metastatic Colorectal Cancer / Journal of the Korean Cancer Association, 대한암학회지

PURPOSE: Regorafenib, an oral multi-targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor, is considered the new standard of care in patients with chemotherapy-refractory colorectal cancers (CRCs). However, there are no data on this drug in Korean patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We evaluated patients who received oral regorafenib 160 mg once daily during the first 3 weeks of each 4-week cycle between August 2013 and September 2013. All patients had previously progressed fluorouracil, irinotecan, and oxaliplatin with or without biologic agents such as cetuximab or bevacizumab. RESULTS: Thirty-two patients were enrolled (median age, 57 years; male:female ratio, 20:12; Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status [0-1:2], 31:1; colon:rectum, 21:11). The overall response rate was 3.1% and the disease control rate was 50.0% (95% confidence interval [CI]) with one partial response and 15 patients with stable disease. The median progression-free survival was 4.2 months (95% CI, 3.1 to 5.2 months) and the median overall survival has not yet been reached. The most common adverse events of grade two or higher related to regorafenib were hand-foot skin reaction (25%), mucositis (19%), abdominal pain (9%), and liver function test (LFT) abnormalities (9%). Grade 3 or 4 toxicities included LFT abnormalities (9%), abdominal pain (9%), rash (6%), anemia (3%), leukopenia (3%), neutropenic fever (3%), and fatigue (3%). There was no treatment-related death. CONCLUSION: Regorafenib appears to have promising activity and tolerable toxicity profiles in Korean patients with refractory CRC, consistent with the CORRECT trial findings.

Impact on Survival of Regular Postoperative Surveillance for Patients with Early Breast Cancer / Journal of the Korean Cancer Association, 대한암학회지

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the role of regular postoperative surveillance to improve the prognosis of patients with breast cancer after curative surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of 4,119 patients who received curative surgery for breast cancer at Samsung Medical Center between January 2000 and September 2008. Patients were divided into two groups (group I, regular postoperative surveillance; group II, control group) according to their post-therapy follow-up status for the first 5 years after surgery. RESULTS: Among the 3,770 patients selected for inclusion, groups I and II contained 3,300 (87%) and 470 (13%) patients, respectively. The recurrence rates at 5 years for groups I and II were 10.6% and 16.4%, respectively (hazard ratio, 0.85; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.67 to 1.09; p=0.197). The 10-year mortality cumulative rates were 8.8% for group I and 25.4% for group II (hazard ratio, 0.28; 95% CI, 0.22 to 0.35; p < 0.001). In multivariate analysis for recurrence-free survival (RFS), age over 40 years (p < 0.001), histologic grade 1 (p < 0.001), and pathologic stage I (p < 0.001) were associated with longer RFS but not with follow-up status. Multivariate analysis for overall survival (OS) revealed that patients in group I showed significantly improved OS (hazard ratio, 0.29; 95% CI, 0.23 to 0.37; p < 0.001). Additionally, age over 40 years, histologic grade I, and pathologic stage I were independent prognostic factors for OS. CONCLUSION: Regular follow-up for patients with breast cancer after primary surgery resulted in clinically significant improvements in patient OS.