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World J Gastroenterol. Nov 28, 2007; 13(44): 5867-5876
Published online Nov 28, 2007. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v13.i44.5867
Combining chemotherapy and targeted therapies in metastatic colorectal cancer
J Rodriguez, R Zarate, E Bandres, A Viudez, A Chopitea, J García-Foncillas, I Gil-Bazo
J Rodriguez, R Zarate, E Bandres, A Viudez, A Chopitea, J García-Foncillas, I Gil-Bazo, Unit for the Research and Treatment of Gastrointestinal Malignancies, Department of Oncology, Clinica Universitaria, Center for Applied Medical Research, University of Navarra, Spain
Author contributions: All authors contributed equally to the work.
Correspondence to: Javier Rodriguez, MD, Unit for the Research and Treatment of Gastrointestinal Malignancies, Department of Oncology, Clinica Universitaria, Center for Applied Medical Research, University of Navarra, Spain. jrodriguez@unav.es
Telephone: +34-948-255400 Fax: +34-948-296500
Received: June 26, 2007
Revised: August 8, 2007
Accepted: October 19, 2007
Published online: November 28, 2007
Abstract

Colorectal cancer remains one of the major causes of cancer death worldwide. During the past years, the development of new effective treatment options has led to a considerable improvement in the outcome of this disease. The advent of agents such as capecitabine, irinotecan, oxaliplatin, cetuximab and bevacizumab has translated into median survival times in the range of 2 years. Intense efforts have focused on identifying novel agents targeting specific growth factor receptors, critical signal transduction pathways or mediators of angiogenesis. In addition, several clinical trials have suggested that some of these molecularly targeted drugs can be safely and effectively used in combination with conventional chemotherapy. In this article we review various treatment options combining cytotoxic and targeted therapies currently available for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.

Keywords: Targeted therapy; Chemotherapy; Combi-nations; Clinical trials; Colorectal cancer