[The modern treatment of colorectal cancer. Present and future]

The modern treatment of colorectal cancer. Present and future. Fluorouracyl has been the mainstay of treatment for colorectal cancer for decades. The addition of folinic acid to 5FU, the use of infusional, rather than bolus 5FU, and the combination of new active agents such as irinotecan and oxaliplatin with 5FU/LV have each led to increase in effectivity. Oral formulations of fluoropyrimidines can replace the infusional 5FU therapy with better convenience. The authors review the current progress with the use of novel molecular targeted therapies that are tumor specific with better toxicity profile than chemotherapy. The integration of the new biological response modifier therapeutic possibilities in the chemotherapy protocols may result prolongation in survival, in metastatic patients the presently 2 years survival will approach 3 years. Combining these drugs with chemotherapeutics in the adjuvant setting we hope to raise further the presently achieved 78% of 3 years disease free survival by oxaliplatin plus 5FU therapy. As the variation of agents has been increased, choosing the most effective treatment strategy has become increasingly complex.