Recent advances in colorectal cancer therapy

Colorectal cancer is the second most common cause of cancer-related mortality in the United States. The American Cancer Society projects that there will be 107,300 new diagnoses of colorectal cancer in the United States in 2002, and 48,100 deaths will be attributed to colorectal cancer.(1) Although for decades there was only one chemotherapeutic agent with any meaningful activity in colorectal cancer, significant research in the last five years has identified several additional active agents. This review will focus on the recently approved chemotherapeutic combinations including capecitabine, irinotecan and oxaliplatin. We will also discuss preliminary data of molecular targeted therapies and highlight ongoing studies that will likely change the treatment paradigm for colorectal cancer in the future.