The Multidisciplinary Management of Colorectal Cancer: Present and Future Paradigms

As treatment strategies for patients with colorectal cancer advance, there has now become an ever-increasing need for multidisciplinary teams to care for these patients. Recent investigations into the timing and duration of perioperative therapy, as well as, the rise of molecular profiling have led to more systemic chemotherapeutic options. The most efficacious use, in terms of timing and patient selection, of these therapies in the setting of modern operative and radiotherapy techniques requires the generation of care teams discussing cases at multidisciplinary conferences. This review highlights the role of multidisciplinary team conferences, advances in perioperative chemotherapy, current clinical biomarkers, and emerging therapeutic agents for molecular subtypes of metastatic colon cancer. As our understanding of relevant molecular subtypes increases and as data becomes available on treatment response, the treatment of colorectal cancer will become more precise and effective.