Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2009 Apr 22:2:18.
doi: 10.1186/1756-8722-2-18.

Individualized therapies in colorectal cancer: KRAS as a marker for response to EGFR-targeted therapy

David Z Chang  1 , Vikas Kumar, Ying Ma, Kuiyuan Li, Scott Kopetz
Affiliations
Review

Individualized therapies in colorectal cancer: KRAS as a marker for response to EGFR-targeted therapy

David Z Chang et al. J Hematol Oncol. .

Abstract

Individualized therapies that are tailored to a patient's genetic composition will be of tremendous value for treatment of cancer. Recently, Kirsten ras (KRAS) status has emerged as a predictor of response to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) targeted therapies. In this article, we will discuss targeted therapies for colorectal cancers (CRC) based on EGFR signaling pathway and review published data about the potential usefulness of KRAS as a biological marker for response to these therapies. Results from relevant studies published since 2005 and unpublished results presented at national meetings were retrieved and summarized. These studies reflected response (or lack of response) to EGFR-targeted therapies in patients with metastatic CRC as a function of KRAS status. It has become clear that patients with colorectal cancer whose tumor has an activating mutation in KRAS do not respond to monoclonal antibody therapies targeting EGFR. It should now become a standard practice that any patients being considered for EGFR targeted therapies have their tumors tested for KRAS status and only those with wild-type KRAS being offered such therapies.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Jemal A, Siegel R, Ward E, Hao Y, Xu J, Murray T, Thun MJ. Cancer statistics, 2008. CA Cancer J Clin. 2008;58:71–96. - PubMed
    1. Cunningham D, Humblet Y, Siena S, Khayat D, Bleiberg H, Santoro A, Bets D, Mueser M, Harstrick A, Verslype C, Chau I, Van Cutsem E. Cetuximab monotherapy and cetuximab plus irinotecan in irinotecan-refractory metastatic colorectal cancer. N Engl J Med. 2004;351:337–345. - PubMed
    1. Saltz L, Niedzwiecki D, Hollis D, Goldberg RM, Hantel A, Thomas JP, Fields ALA, Carver G, RJ M. Irinotecan plus fluorouracil/leucovorin (IFL) versus fluorouracil/leucovorin alone (FL) in stage III colon cancer (intergroup trial CALGB C89803) 2004 ASCO Annual Meeting. 2004.
    1. Jonker DJ, O'Callaghan CJ, Karapetis CS, Zalcberg JR, Tu D, Au HJ, Berry SR, Krahn M, Price T, Simes RJ, Tebbutt NC, van Hazel G, Wierzbicki R, Langer C, Moore MJ. Cetuximab for the treatment of colorectal cancer. [see comment] New England Journal of Medicine. 2007;357:2040–2048. - PubMed
    1. Van Cutsem E, Peeters M, Siena S, Humblet Y, Hendlisz A, Neyns B, Canon JL, Van Laethem JL, Maurel J, Richardson G, Wolf M, Amado RG. Open-label phase III trial of panitumumab plus best supportive care compared with best supportive care alone in patients with chemotherapy-refractory metastatic colorectal cancer. [see comment] J Clin Oncol. 2007;25:1658–1664. - PubMed

MeSH terms