Ziv-Aflibercept Approved as 2^nd line treatment for metastatic CRC  

For the first time in more than five years, the FDA has approved a new drug for certain patients who have metastatic colorectal cancer.

The FDA has approved ZALTRAP® (ziv-aflibercept) to be used with FOLFIRI as a “second-line” treatment for patients with stage IV colorectal cancer whose cancer got worse despite an initial oxaliplatin-based treatment (e.g. FOLFOX).  Read the rest of this entry »

Fight Colorectal Cancer, along with five other cancer groups, has sent a letter to Congress urging action to protect patients from counterfeit or unsafe medicines.

In February 2012, vials of fake Avastin (bevacizumab) were distributed in the United States. Avastin is a critical drug for metastatic colorectal cancer patients. The fake vials did not include bevacizumab at all – which could have put patients at great risk.

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Have you been diagnosed with stage II colon cancer?

We need a few more men to complete a 30 minute survey to help inform a study focused on patients like you.

If you were diagnosed with stage II colon cancer any time since 2010, researchers from the University of California-Los Angeles and the University of Pittsburgh would like to talk with you.

These researchers have asked Fight Colorectal Cancer for assistance in finding colon cancer survivors who can help them design a survey for use in a study about how stage II colon cancer patients make decisions about treatment.

Participation would involve:

• Scheduling a one-time, 30-minute phone call with the researchers on a day and time that is convenient for you.
• Answering questions about a draft survey that the researchers intend to use in a large study of stage II colon cancer survivors focused on decision making about treatment (specifically, chemotherapy).
• Giving the researchers your opinion on the best questions to ask in the survey so that it does a good job of capturing survivors’ experiences.

If you are interested in participating or want to learn more, call the Fight Colorectal Cancer Answer Line at:
1-877-427-2111. You may also email an Answer Line Associate.

Thank you!

Patricia Steer

We passed too often in the night of this disease, Pat Steer and I.

We made plans that sometimes turned out too hard to keep.

One of our plans was to get together at the Creekside, to talk books and dogs, but she got sicker, and I was suddenly very sick. We planned for phone calls that fell through and for my driving over for sit-down talks at her condo that I never had enough time for.

I wanted to have her tell me how to to cope with a disease that neither of us wanted.

She lived with stage IV rectal cancer for 8 years. After five years of early stage colon cancer, my cancer has returned in an unexpected way, and I desperately want some of those eight years. What a special gift that would be. Read the rest of this entry »

The FDA has approved Erbitux™ (cetuximab) in combination with FOLFIRI for first-line treatment of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer whose tumors have a wild-type (WT) KRAS gene.  Erbitux was first approved in 2004 for patients whose cancer was not responding to available treatments.

FDA’s action was prompted by results from a look back at patient outcomes and KRAS status from three trials:

• CRYSTAL:  phase 3, 1217 patients newly diagnosed with metastatic CRC, comparing FOLFIRI vs FOLFIRI + Erbitux
• OPUS: phase 2, 337 patients newly diagnosed with metastatic CRC, comparing FOLFOX vs FOLFOX + Erbitux
• CA225025: phase 3, 572 patients with metastatic CRC that stopped responding to available treatments, comparing Best Supportive Care (BSC) to BSC + Erbitux

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