Regorafenib improves overall survival of metastatic colorectal patients who have failed standard drugs

What’s exciting about Regorafenib?

Regorafenib is a drug that targets the VEGFR, a protein that functions in a pathway important for new blood vessel growth, and RAF, a protein that functions in the MAPK pathway. As both the VEGFR and the MAPK pathway are commonly misregulated to be overactive in cancers, Regorafenib has the powerful advantage of blocking the activity of both pathways at once.

Promising results of a Phase 3 clinical trial (CORRECT) using Regorafenib to treat metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients showed a significant increase in overall survival of patients who were treated with Regorafenib for their mCRC after failing treatment with standard drugs. Details of the trial results were released in January of 2012 and reported a 1.4 month increase in overall survival for mCRC previously failing treatment with standard therapies with approximately 25% of patients receiving the drug experiencing side effects.

What are it’s side effects?

Reported side effects of taking Regorafenib include hand-foot skin reaction (HFSR), fatigue, hypertension, mucositis, diarrhea, hair loss, rash, voice changes, anorexia, nausea, constipation and vomiting.

How can I get access to Regorafenib?

Regorafenib is not yet approved by the FDA which means that your doctor will not be able to prescribe it for you. It is currently being tested in phase III clinical trials for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer and with gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST). You can get access to this drug by enrolling in one of these clinical trials. Clinical trials that use Regorafenib are listed below and you can learn about them by clicking on individual trials.