Late-Breaking Data Demonstrate Improved Progression-Free Survival in Patients with Metastatic Colorectal Cancer After Treatment with Boston Scientific TheraSphere™ Y-90 Glass Microspheres

The EPOCH trial not only demonstrated positive safety and efficacy data for the patients treated in this study, but underscores the success of integrating a device-based therapy like TheraSphere treatment in the continuum of care with systemic chemotherapy and biologic regimens, thereby providing the rationale and setting the stage for future investigation in other cancer types," said Riad Salem, M.D., M.B.A, interventional radiologist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and co-principal investigator of the EPOCH trial.ⁱ

 

An estimated 1.9 million global cases of colorectal cancer (CRC) are diagnosed each year, making it the third most common cancer worldwide.ⁱⁱ Approximately one third of all patients with CRC present with, or subsequently develop, metastases in the liver (liver dominant mCRC).ⁱⁱⁱ Patients with mCRC are most commonly treated with surgery and systemic chemotherapy, a therapy that targets the entire body. TheraSphere treatment, indicated for use in patients with hepatic neoplasia/malignancies including liver dominant mCRC in Canada, Europe and regions of Asia, delivers Y-90 directly to liver tumors via catheter, which minimizes radiation exposure to surrounding healthy tissue.

 

"EPOCH is the first positive phase 3 SIRT trial in any disease setting and the data is expected to support our regulatory submission to the U.S. FDA, with the hope that more patients with liver dominant mCRC will gain access to TheraSphere as a treatment option in the future," said Peter Pattison, president, Interventional Oncology, Peripheral Interventions, Boston Scientific.

The global, prospective EPOCH pivotal clinical trial is a phase 3 study, designed to assess therapeutic benefit compared to SOC, which randomized 428 patients with mCRC to second line chemotherapy, with or without the addition of TheraSphere treatment. Both primary endpoints were met and included progression-free survival and hepatic progression-free survival, which reflect how long patients live without the disease progressing further, both systemically and within the liver. The addition of TheraSphere treatment significantly increased both PFS (p=0.0013) and hPFS (p<0.0001). Patients receiving TheraSphere treatment with second-line chemotherapy were 31% less likely to show disease progression or death (HR = 0.69) and 41% less likely to show hepatic disease progression or death versus with chemotherapy alone (HR = 0.59).

 

"In the second line of therapy for metastatic colorectal cancer, with disease isolated to the liver, the addition of TheraSphere with chemotherapy resulted in a significant delay in overall tumor progression," said Mary F. Mulcahy, M.D., medical oncologist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and co-principal investigator of the EPOCH trial.ⁱ "Additionally, chemotherapy-related adverse events were comparable between the trial arms."

 

Earlier this year, the U.S. FDA approved TheraSphere for the treatment of unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and granted Breakthrough Device Designation for expedited review as a treatment of patients with glioblastoma, an aggressive type of cancer that can occur in the brain or spinal cord. It is the only radioembolization technology in the U.S. indicated for unresectable HCC.

 

CAUTION: In the U.S., the use of TheraSphere for mCRC is for investigational use only as the safety and effectiveness have not been established.

 

For more information on TheraSphere treatment, visit www.therasphere.com.

 

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Factors that may cause such differences include, among other things: future economic, competitive, reimbursement and regulatory conditions; new product introductions; demographic trends; intellectual property; litigation; financial market conditions; and future business decisions made by us and our competitors.  All of these factors are difficult or impossible to predict accurately and many of them are beyond our control.  For a further list and description of these and other important risks and uncertainties that may affect our future operations, see Part I, Item 1A – Risk Factors in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which we may update in Part II, Item 1A – Risk Factors in Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q we have filed or will file hereafter.  We disclaim any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in our expectations or in events, conditions or circumstances on which those expectations may be based, or that may affect the likelihood that actual results will differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements.  This cautionary statement is applicable to all forward-looking statements contained in this document.

 

 

ⁱ Drs. Riad Salem and Mary F. Mulcahy are paid consultants for Boston Scientific Corporation. They have not been compensated for their quotes within this press release.

 

ⁱⁱ Sung H, Ferlay J, Siegel RL, et al. Global Cancer Statistics 2020: GLOBOCAN Estimates of Incidence and Mortality Worldwide for 36 Cancers in 185 Countries. CA Cancer J Clin 2021;71(3):209-249. DOI:10.3322/caac.21660.

 

ⁱⁱⁱ Siebenhüner, A.R., Güller, U. & Warschkow, R. Population-based SEER analysis of survival in colorectal cancer patients with or without resection of lung and liver metastases. BMC Cancer 20, 246 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-020-6710-1

SOURCE Boston Scientific Corporation

 

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