[Therapy of colorectal carcinoma in internal medicine]

A six month therapy with 5-fluorouracil/folinic has become the standard in adjuvant therapy for colon cancer. The impact of new substances like oxaliplatin, irinotecan or capecitabine on the results of adjuvant therapy is currently been tested in several multicenter studies. In the clinical setting of palliative therapy these substances have already extended our therapeutic options. A marked increase in remission rates for the first time also translates into a significant prolongation of survival. The coordinated sequence of therapies allows median survival times of 20 months. After years of stagnation we face a multitude of promising new approaches to improve the outcome of patients with advanced colorectal cancer.