Sex moderates circadian chemotherapy effects on survival of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer: a meta-analysis

Molecular circadian clocks can modify cancer chemotherapy effects, with a possible moderation according to sex differences. We investigated whether sex determine the optimal delivery schedule of chemotherapy for metastatic colorectal cancer. A meta-analysis was performed using individual data from three international Phase III trials comparing 5-fluorouracil, leucovorin and oxaliplatin administered in chronomodulated (chronoFLO) or conventional (CONV) infusions. The data from 345 females and 497 males were updated at 9 years. The main end point was survival. Overall survival was improved in males on chronoFLO when compared with CONV (P = 0.009), with respective median values of 20.8 (95% CL, 18.7 to 22.9) and 17.5 months (16.1 to 18.8). Conversely, median survival was 16.6 months (13.9 to 19.3) on chronoFLO and 18.4 months (16.6 to 20.2) on CONV in females (P = 0.012). The sex versus schedule interaction was a strong predictive factor of optimal treatment schedule, with a hazard ratio of 1.59 (1.30 to 1.75) for overall survival (P = 0.002) in multivariate analysis. Males lived significantly longer on chronomodulated chemotherapy rather than on conventional chemotherapy. The current chronoFLO schedule deserves prospective assessment as a safe and more effective first-line treatment option than conventional delivery for male patients.