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Review
. 2020 Nov 30;9(12):3889.
doi: 10.3390/jcm9123889.

Metastatic Colorectal Cancer. First Line Therapy for Unresectable Disease

Jorge Aparicio  1 , Francis Esposito  2 , Sara Serrano  3 , Esther Falco  4 , Pilar Escudero  5 , Ana Ruiz-Casado  6 , Hermini Manzano  7 , Ana Fernandez-Montes  8
Affiliations
Review

Metastatic Colorectal Cancer. First Line Therapy for Unresectable Disease

Jorge Aparicio et al. J Clin Med. .

Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a commonly diagnosed malignancy. The prognosis of patients with unresectable, metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) is dismal and medical treatment is mainly palliative in nature. Although chemotherapy remains the backbone of treatment, the landscape is changing with the understanding of its heterogeneity and molecular biology. First-line therapy relies on a combination of chemotherapy and targeted therapies, according to clinical patient characteristics and tumor molecular profile. Here we review current evidence from randomized clinical trials for using chemotherapy doublets or triplets, and for the addition of bevacizumab or anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) agents. Novel therapies developed for small, selected populations are also discussed.

Keywords: chemotherapy; colorectal cancer; metastatic disease; targeted agents.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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