[Treatment of metastases of colorectal cancers]

Important advances have been made in the management of advanced colorectal cancers during the past decade, even though prognosis remains poor. Quality of life, and sometimes overall survival have been increased. Surgery is the only potentially curative treatment of liver metastases from colorectal cancer. Radiation therapy is useful as a palliative local treatment for painful bone metastases or compressive nodes. Chemotherapy, still palliative, has been shown to improve the quality of life. Although 5-fluorouracil remains the drug of reference, various routes and schedules of administration (continuous infusion, hepatic artery infusion, chronotherapy) and biomodulation, mainly by folinic acid and methotrexate have led to a significant improvement in response rates.