ISTANBUL MEDICAL JOURNAL, no.3, pp.181-184, 2024 (ESCI)
Introduction: Adding targeted agents to chemotherapy for metastatic colorectal cancer increases survival. There have been no clinical trials in older populations comparing the efficacy of the targeted agents. We aimed to compare the efficacy and tolerability of anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (anti-eGFR) and anti-vascular endotelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) in elderly patients with metastatic colorectal cancer in the first-line setting. Methods: A total of 89 elderly patients diagnosed with KRAS wild metastatic colorectal cancer who received anti-eGFR or anti-VEGF therapy in the first-line setting were included in the study. Patients received anti-eGFR plus chemotherapy compared with antiVEGF plus chemotherapy according to general characteristics, response rates, progression-free and overall survival (OS), and nonhematological toxicities. Results: The median age was 70 (65-81) years old in anti-eGFR group and 69 (65-78) in anti-VEGF group in our study. The progressionfree survival was 11 months in the anti-eGFR group and 10 months in anti-VEGF group (p=0.053). OS was not reached at the median of 28 months in the anti-eGFR group and there were no statistically difference (p=0.77). Conclusion: Progression-free and OS rates were similar between the anti-eGFR and anti-VEGF groups in older patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. Grade 3-4 rash is the most common adverse event in the anti-eGFR group. Pulmoner thromboembolism and diarrhea are the most common adverse events in the anti-VEGF group. Old age is not a barrier for use biological agents.