Vol 17, No 4 (2021)
Review paper
Published online: 2021-07-15
Recent progress in the systemic treatment of colorectal cancer
DOI: 10.5603/OCP.2020.0044
Oncol Clin Pract 2021;17(4):157-163.
Abstract
Over the last decade in the treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients, a significant improvement of systemic treatment approaches has been observed in terms of safety and efficacy. Regarding safety, a huge, international IDEA trial proved that for CRC patients with pT1–3 and N1 features, a short, 3-month adjuvant treatment with CAPOX does not negatively impact long-term prognosis compared to standard, 6-month, oxaliplatin-based regimens. Additionally, the shortened adjuvant treatment significantly diminishes chronic neuropathy risk, representing a detrimental symptom in CRC survivors. On the other hand, in a palliative setting, a significant improvement in mCRC patients’ prognosis has been achieved with the advent of novel therapies targeting critical molecular disorders. The encorafenib and cetuximab combination in BRAF V600E mutated mCRC and checkpoint inhibitors in MSI-H mCRC patients are the most impressive examples of this continuous progress.
Keywords: colorectal cancermetastasescetuximabencorafenibpembrolizumabimmunotherapymicrosatellite instabilityBRAF mutationadjuvant treatment
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