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Adjuvant therapy with edrecolomab versus observation in stage II colon cancer: a multicenter randomized phase III study.

Hartung G, Hofheinz RD, Dencausse Y, Sturm J, Kopp-Schneider A, Dietrich G, Fackler-Schwalbe I, Bornbusch D, Gonnermann M, Wojatschek C, Lindemann W, Eschenburg H, Jost K, Edler L, Hochhaus A, Queisser W

Abteilung Hämatologie und Onkologie, Universität Rostock, Germany. Gernot.Hartung@med.uni-rostock.de

BACKGROUND: In a phase III study recruiting patients with stage II colon cancer the effect of adjuvant therapy with edrecolomab, a murine monoclonal antibody to the cell-surface glycoprotein 17-1A, was compared to observation alone. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From January 1997 until July 2000 a total of 377 patients were postoperatively stratified according to tumor stage (T3 vs. T4) and center, and randomly allocated to either treatment with edrecolomab (cohort A, n = 183) or observation (cohort B, n = 194). Patients in cohort A received a total of 900 mg edrecolomab. The study was terminated prematurely because of discontinuation of drug supply in Germany. RESULTS: 305 patients were eligible for the primary endpoint of overall survival and 282 patients for disease-free survival. After a median follow-up of 42 months overall survival and disease-free survival were not significantly different. Toxicity was mild. CONCLUSIONS: In the present study, postoperative adjuvant treatment with edrecolomab in patients with resected stage II colon cancer did not improve overall or disease-free survival.

Published 3 June 2005 in Onkologie, 28(6): 347-50.
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