Chemotherapy and Targeted Therapy in Colorectal Cancer: The Current Status
摘要
Colorectal cancer now has the highest rate of incidence and is the third most common cause of cancer death in both men and women in Taiwan. Molecular and genetic studies such as chromosomal instability, microsatellite instability, and CpG island methylator phenotype pathways provide a more patient-specific prognosis, and enable more tailored medical treatments than clinico-pathologic staging alone. Post-operative adjuvant chemotherapy for stage III CRC is well known to improve survival and reduce recurrence, and maintenance chemotherapy has further improved these outcomes. Moreover, chemotherapy is recommended for those ”high risk” stage II patients. Targeted drugs such as anti-EGFR and anti-VEGR have synergized the chemotherapy effects on patients with stage IV disease. However, the use of targeted therapy in stage III disease may be harmful to survival. The ”dual targeted therapy” have resulted in an adverse oncologic outcome over single targeted therapy. Chemotherapies promote an increased resectability rate of liver metastases, and the addition of a targeted therapy further potentiates such an effect. This article revealed the current status of progress where chemotherapy and targeted therapy are used to treat colorectal cancer.