Developments in the chemotherapy treatment for advanced colorectal cancer / 中国癌症杂志

ABSTRACT

Metastatic colorectal cancer is a major cause of cancer-related mortality. Surgical resection of all known metastatic disease can be curative in selected patients. The majority of patients,however,require systemic chemotherapy as optimal palliative treatment for their disease. For years,effective treatment for advanced colorectal cancer was limited to fluorouracil. In the 1990s,two additional agents,irinotecan and oxaliplatin,were found to have activity against advanced colorectal cancer. Recently,new molecular targeted agents,bevacizumab and cetuximab,were for the first time demonstrated efficacy. Herein,we review recent developments in treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer and implication for optimal treatment in these patients.