Amgen study reveals new colorectal cancer biomarkers

Amgen has announced results from analyses of its metastatic colorectal cancer therapy Vectibix that identify new predictive biomarkers that could inform treatment strategies in future.

Analysis from the phase III Prime study and phase II Peak trial have revealed that patients affected by certain RAS gene mutations experienced inferior progression-free survival when receiving Vectibix plus Folfox chemotherapy, compared to Folfox alone.

It suggests that this biomarker could be indicative of negative outcomes for patients receiving Amgen's combination cancer therapy approach, information that the manufacturer now intends to relay to investigators, physicians and regulatory agencies.

Dr Sean Harper, executive vice-president of research and development at Amgen, said: "The identification of new biomarkers may further help to identify appropriate patients with this incurable disease for such treatment."

Earlier this month, the company announced results from a phase III trial called Aspecct, which revealed that Vectibix delivered a non-inferior performance to Erbitux in the treatment of chemorefractory metastatic colorectal cancer.