The role of maintenance strategy in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC): A systematic review and meta-analysis.
3524 Background: In mCRC, induction combination chemotherapy with targeted agents is considered the mainstay of treatment. This is typically followed by maintenance therapy vs. observation which had been examined in various trials. However, it remains unclear how best optimize maintenance strategy. We aim to evaluate comparative effectiveness to support best maintenance strategy. Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane CENTRAL for randomized controlled trials (RCT) evaluating different maintenance strategies in previously untreated mCRC patients (pts): observation (obs), bevacizumab (bev), fluoropyrimidine (FP), FP+bev, or continuing induction regimen (CTX). Outcomes of interest included OS and PFS. The overall effect was pooled using the DerSimonian random effects model. We conducted network meta-analysis based on White’s multivariate meta-regression to pool evidence from direct and indirect comparisons. Agents were ranked using surface under the cumulative ranking (SUCRA) probabilities. Higher SUCRA scores correspond to greater efficacy. Results: Twelve trials at low risk of bias (5540 pts) were included. Network meta-analysis shows no benefit of CTX over obs in terms of PFS (HR 0.7; 95% CI 0.46-1.09) and OS (HR 0.95; 95% CI 0.85-1.07). Compared to obs, maintenance therapy shows PFS benefit (HR 0.58; 95% CI 0.43-0.77) with only a trend in OS (HR 0.91; 95% CI 0.83-1.009). All maintenance strategies (FP, FP+bev, and bev) show significant improvement in PFS over obs. On SUCRA analysis, maintenance treatment (FP or FP+bev) has the highest likelihood of achieving better PFS (67.1% for FP and 99.8% for FP+bev) and OS (81.3% for FP and 73.2% for FP+bev). Conclusions: A maintenance strategy with at least a FP with or without the addition of bevacizumab is preferred. However, given the lack of a clear OS benefit, obs is an acceptable alternative. Optimal maintenance strategies should be dependent on factors including patient preferences, cost and toxicities. [Table: see text]