ERASur: Why is this trial being done?

Currently, ablative therapy is commonly used for colorectal cancer patients who have metastatic disease isolated to the liver, and this is able to prolong survival & even lead to a cure in some patients.

However, TAT is increasingly being used for patients with metastatic disease outside of the liver with no scientific data to show that it is beneficial in this group of patients. While the use of TAT in addition to chemotherapy could shrink the cancer and prevent it from returning, it may also cause side effects and require more time in the hospital. ERASur is designed to determine the benefit of adding TAT to the usual approach of chemotherapy for treatment of limited metastatic colorectal cancer.

Thinking about it another way, the trial is investigating if the addition of local therapy including ablative radiation, surgery and/or microwave ablation, to chemotherapy can improve survival and increase the time between recurrences compared to treatment with chemotherapy alone in patients who have metastatic disease limited to 4 sites in the body.

ERASur is being done to answer the following question: For patients with limited metastatic colorectal cancer, does the addition of total ablative therapy (TAT) to the usual approach of chemotherapy improve overall survival compared to chemotherapy alone?