[Colon cancer: what is new in 2004?]

Two thousand and three was a particularly dense year for publications and communications on therapy for colon cancer summarizing the real advance performed in this field. The last ten years allowed a rapid evolution for colon chemotherapy with a switch from 5-FU modulated by leucovorin to poly-chemotherapy (fluoropyrimidines with oxaliplatin or irinotecan) integrated into therapeutic strategies, where surgery had a place more and more important in metastatic patients. In correlation with these advances, median survival of patient with metastatic colorectal cancer is between 17 and 22 months. Targeted therapeutics with monoclonal antibody such as EGF inhibitors (cetuximab) or VEGF inhibitors (bevacizumab) had for the first time demonstrated efficacy with encouraging results in randomised trials. In adjuvant situation, LV5FU2 is less toxic than monthly FUFOL and no statistically significant difference could be detected in disease-free or overall survival between the two schedules. Oxaliplatin combined with 5 fluorouracil and leucovorin (FOLFOX4) is the first combination to demonstrate significant superiority over 5 fluorouracil and leucovorin in adjuvant treatment of colorectal cancer. Fluorouracil-based adjuvant chemotherapy benefited to patients with stage II or III colon cancer with microsatellite-stable tumours or tumour exhibiting low-frequency microsatellite instability but may be not those with tumours exhibiting high-frequency microsatellite instability (MSI). These data need to be confirmed by prospective studies before changing our therapeutic references. The number of lymph nodes analyzed for colon cancer staging is itself a prognostic variable on outcome. Laparoscopic surgery of colon cancer is demonstrated as a feasible and safe procedure. Shrinkage of tumours after administration of preoperative chemotherapy and availability of ablative techniques (radiofrequency and cryotherapy) now allow to treat with curative intent metastases initially considered as non-resectable.