Management of advanced colorectal cancer: state of the art

Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) caused over 500 000 deaths worldwide in 2002. Recent advances in the treatment of advanced disease include the incorporation of two new cytotoxic agents, irinotecan and oxaliplatin, into first-line regimens. The concept of planned sequential therapy involving three active agents during the course of a patient's treatment is evolving. Coupled with the integrated use of targeted monoclonal antibodies, we can now expect overall survival rates for advanced disease to exceed 20 months. This review considers current treatments and suggests where future progress may occur.

Differential diagnostic and functional role of the multi-marker phenotype CDX2/CK20/CK7 in colorectal cancer stratified by mismatch repair status

“…[24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32] Jenkins et al 39 recently proposed a score to predict microsatellite instability high colorectal cancer based on characteristic features associated with this subgroup of tumors including age at diagnosis, anatomical site, histologic subtype, tumor grade, Crohn-like reaction and intratumoral lymphocytes. The immunohistochemical phenotype of microsatellite instability high colorectal cancer is poorly understood.…”

“…23 Certain clinico-pathological features such as tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, proximal subsite, mucinous histology, poor differentiation, Crohn-like reaction and diagnosis before the age of 50 years seem to predict microsatellite instability high status. [24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32] Although a reduced CK20 expression in microsatellite instability high colorectal cancer was described in a previous study, 33 the immunohistochemical phenotype of microsatellite instability high colorectal cancer is poorly studied.…”

Current role of antibody therapy in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer

“…Data on antibodies were also identified in relevant publications and from listings in recent overviews (Veronese and O'Dwyer, 2004;Nygren et al, 2005;Stern and Herrmann, 2005;Arnold et al, 2006;Saunders and Iveson, 2006;Van Cutsem et al, 2006). Full reporting of final results from important clinical trials often lags behind more preliminary reports in the abstract form.…”

Clinical relevance of KRAS mutation detection in metastatic colorectal cancer treated by Cetuximab plus chemotherapy

“…The median overall survival of patients with a metastatic colorectal cancer (MCRC) has increased from 12 months to approximately 20 months in the past decade (Douillard et al, 2003;Meyerhardt and Mayer, 2005;Saunders and Iveson, 2006). This dramatic improvement was mainly due to the introduction of both active new chemotherapeutic agents and novel targeted drugs.…”