Therapeutic armamentarium in metastatic colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer is one of the most frequently diagnosed malignancies in both men and women and, despite recent advances, the prognosis in the metastatic setting remains poor. In the last decade the introduction of new chemotherapeutic agents has improved the median overall survival of these patients. The demonstration that deregulation and/or activation of selected kinase proteins are common phenomena in patients with colon cancer has prompted the development of new biologic therapies targeting such proteins. Further, inhibition of the angiogenesis process can result in efficacy advantage. To date, three targeted therapies have been approved for the treatment of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer: bevacizumab, cetuximab and panitumumab. New treatments directed against other molecular targets are being developed in order to improve these results.