Subgroup Analysis by Prior Anti-VEGF or Anti-EGFR Target Therapy in FRESCO, a Randomized, Double-Blind, Phase III trial

<b>Background:</b> FRESCO study demonstrated efficacy and safety of fruquintinib in metastatic colorectal cancer patients. Impact of prior targeted therapy (PTT) on efficacy and safety of fruquintinib was evaluated. <b>Materials & methods:</b> In this subgroup analysis of FRESCO trial, patients were divided into PTT and non-PTT subgroups, and efficacy and safety of fruquintinib were assessed, respectively. <b>Results:</b> In non-PTT subgroup, fruquintinib significantly prolonged overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) of patients compared with placebo. In PTT subgroup, the median OS and PFS of patients in fruquintinib arm was significantly higher than those in placebo. Treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) rates were similar in both subgroups. <b>Conclusion:</b> Fruquintinib demonstrated clinically meaningful improvement in OS, PFS, objective response rate, and disease control rate with manageable TEAEs in both subgroups. Clinical trial registration: NCT02314819 (ClinicalTrials.gov).