Wein A, Stoehr R, Kersting S, et al. - A new molecular biomarker panel (KRAS, NRAS, BRAF, PIK3CA, and ERBB2) was prospectively evaluated for palliative first-line treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC), including a multidisciplinary treatment approach.

• Prior to the interim analysis (June 2019) of the IVOPAK II trial (Interdisciplinary Care with Quality Control in Palliative Treatment of Colorectal Cancer), researchers enrolled 40 patients with definitively nonresectable metastatic CRC.

• Interim analysis revealed a significantly higher response rate, increased early tumor shrinkage, as well as a high rate of secondary metastatic resections in the quintuple-wildtype population treated with FOLFIRI plus cetuximab in first-line relative to the RAS-mutations population.

• Overall, the new biomarker panel (quintuple-wildtype) is suggested to have promising value for anti-EGFR therapy with cetuximab plus doublet chemotherapy (FOLFIRI) in first-line treatment of metastatic CRC.