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Management of metastatic colorectal cancer: the impact of clinical trials reported at ASCO 2007
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
Chemotherapy is the fundamental intervention for palliation of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). Chemotherapy regimens incorporating a fluoropyrimidine with irinotecan or oxaliplatin and the biologic agents bevacizumab, cetuximab, and panitumumab have improved treatment outcomes, achieving a median overall survival in mCRC patients that approaches 24 months. However, controversies abound regarding regimen selection, schedule of administration, treatment toxicity, the role of sequential versus combination therapy, and the most appropriate strategy for utilization of newer, targeted biologic agents. The latest findings from trials evaluating potential advances in the therapy of mCRC were presented at the 43rd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in 2007. Their impact on clinical practice is reviewed and evaluated here.
| Commun Oncol 2008;5:37–42 | full text |  120 kb |