The Efficacy and Safety of Trifluridine/Tipiracil Treatment for Elderly Patients With Metastatic Colorectal Cancer in a Real-world Setting

Abstract

Background/aim: Recently, trifluridine/tipiracil (FTD/TPI) treatment was established as a later-line treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). However, FTD/TPI treatment is frequently associated with hematological toxicity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of FTD/TPI in elderly patients with mCRC in a real-world setting.

Patients and methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 74 patients with mCRC who were treated with FTD/TPI.

Results: The treatment effect of the elderly patient group was not inferior to that of the younger patient group. Although the incidence of hematological toxicity in the elderly patient group was higher than that in the younger patient group, there were no significant differences in the rate of treatment discontinuation due to adverse events between the two groups.

Conclusion: In elderly patients with mCRC, FTD/TPI treatment was effective for prolonging survival. However, it should be noted that elderly patients showed a higher rate of hematological toxicity than younger patients.

Keywords: Trifluridine/tipiracil; elderly; metastatic colorectal cancer; safety.