Survey: 66% of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer are now tested for KRAS
March 23, 2016
"These are very positive findings which demonstrate that in only two years the management of mCRC has been revolutionized, greatly to the benefit of patients," said Dr. Wolfgang Wein, Executive Vice President, Oncology, Merck Serono. "KRAS testing has allowed mCRC patients to receive personalized therapy, such as with Erbitux, that is tailored to their specific disease and which provides them with a higher chance of responding to treatment and living longer."
This was underlined at ASCO 2010 by the presentation of the latest Erbitux data from the CRYSTAL study, which reinforces the drug's significant overall survival benefit in mCRC patients with KRAS wild-type tumors versus FOLFIRI alone.
This latest survey demonstrates that the vast majority of healthcare professionals are performing KRAS testing as standard and more and more patients are being tested for KRAS, reaching for example 76 percent in Europe. The significant yearly increases in levels of KRAS testing illustrate that physicians across the world are taking an increasingly evidence-based approach to the management of mCRC. They also reflect the growing body of evidence that the addition of Erbitux to the standard chemotherapy regimen, FOLFIRI, significantly improves outcomes, including overall survival (OS), in mCRC patients with KRAS wild-type tumors.
SOURCE Merck Serono