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Review
. 2017 Jul 14;23(26):4675-4688.
doi: 10.3748/wjg.v23.i26.4675.

Present and future of metastatic colorectal cancer treatment: A review of new candidate targets

Giulia Martini  1 , Teresa Troiani  1 , Claudia Cardone  1 , Pietropaolo Vitiello  1 , Vincenzo Sforza  1 , Davide Ciardiello  1 , Stefania Napolitano  1 , Carminia Maria Della Corte  1 , Floriana Morgillo  1 , Antonio Raucci  1 , Antonio Cuomo  1 , Francesco Selvaggi  1 , Fortunato Ciardiello  1 , Erika Martinelli  1
Affiliations
Review

Present and future of metastatic colorectal cancer treatment: A review of new candidate targets

Giulia Martini et al. World J Gastroenterol. .

Abstract

In the last two decades, great efforts have been made in the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) due to the approval of new target agents for cytotoxic drugs. Unfortunately, a large percentage of patients present with metastasis at the time of diagnosis or relapse after a few months. The complex molecular heterogeneity of this disease is not completely understood; to date, there is a lack of predictive biomarkers that can be used to select subsets of patients who may respond to target drugs. Only the RAS-mutation status is used to predict resistance to anti-epidermal growth factor receptor agents in patients with mCRC. In this review, we describe approved targeted therapies for the management of metastatic mCRC and discuss new candidate targets on the horizon.

Keywords: Metastatic colorectal cancer; Monoclonal antibodies; Mutation; Novel biomarkers; RAS; Resistance; Target therapy.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict-of-interest statement: Authors have no conflict of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Colorectal cancer consensus gene expression-based subtypes[83]. CIMP: CpG island methylator phenotype; MSI: Microsatellite instability; SCNA: Somatic copy number alterations; BRAF: B-Raf proto-oncogene, serine/threonine kinase; KRAS: Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene; TGF: Transforming growth factor; APC: Adenomatous polyposis coli.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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