Conversion chemotherapy using cetuximab plus FOLFIRI followed by bevacizumab plus mFOLFOX6 in patients with unresectable liver metastases from colorectal cancer.

Recently, in patients with unresectable colorectal liver metastasis, liver resection sometimes becomes possible by intensive systemic chemotherapy, i.e. conversion therapy. However, among cases that do not respond well to first-line chemotherapy, it is rare that second-line chemotherapy results in a marked response allowing liver resection. We consider that the liver resection rate may be increased by initiating second-line treatment at an earlier stage before progression subsequent to first-line chemotherapy. We are conducting a multicentre Phase II study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of sequential chemotherapy using six cycles of cetuximab plus FOLFIRI (5-fluorouracil, folinic acid and irinotecan) followed by six cycles of bevacizumab plus FOLFOX (5-fluorouracil, folinic acid and oxaliplatin) as conversion chemotherapy. The primary endpoint is the liver resection rate during the bevacizumab + FOLFOX phase. Fifty patients are required for this study.