This does not differ too much from the 59.3% obtained in the CRYSTAL trial adding cetuximab to FOLFIRI for KRAS wild-type patients [20]. Only head-to-head ongoing phase III random trials will address this question. As it regards the toxicity profile, it is confirmed the relatively safe use of BEVA, as already suggested by BEAT [9] and BRiTE registers [21], that included about 4000 patients, treated with the anti-VEGF in the clinical practice. In the present metanalysis the addition GS-4997 research buy of BEVA significantly increased the risk of hypertension by 6.2%, while no find more significant differences in grade 3-4 bleeding and proteinuria were observed. According to

the our meta-regression analysis, female gender and rectal primary site were significant predictors for

PFS benefit: we do not have any biological or clinical explanation for such unexpected finding. Future studies should be conducted for confirming these results and therefore to drive reliable hypothesis. According to our results, the addition of BEVA to first-line chemotherapy seems to improve treatment’s efficacy in an overall population, selected on the basis of the inclusion criteria of gathered trials, that tended to exclude patients prone to experience BEVA-related toxicities because of their cardiovascular comorbidities or bleeding diatheses. Despite that, from selleck chemicals a clinical perspective, the identification of molecular predictors of benefit from the antiangiogenic FK228 manufacturer drug could be extremely useful to refine patients’ selection and to improve the cost-effectiveness ratio [22].

In fact, on the one hand, this step forward could allow to avoid the harmful cost of unnecessary and potentially life-threatening toxicities to patients with poor chances to achieve benefit from the anti-VEGF antibody. On the other hand, the magnitude of the advantage provided by the addition of BEVA to chemotherapy would be certainly more extensive in a better selected population [22]. The above reported observations acquire an even more crucial importance, considering the current possibility to administer both the anti-VEGF bevacizumab and the anti-EGFR cetuximab – for which only patients with KRAS wild-type disease are candidate – in the first-line approach to mCRC, but not at the same time. The detrimental effect of the double inhibition binds the oncologist to face an unavoidable point of decision for the handling of KRAS wild type patients and only the availability of new markers of benefit may help to define the best strategy for each patient. Acknowledgements Presented at the 45th ASCO (American Society of Medical Oncology) annual meeting, Orlando, Florida (US), May 29th- June 2nd, 2009.