Targeted Therapies in Colorectal Cancer: Recent Advances in Biomarkers, Landmark Trials, and Future Perspectives

In 2022, approximately 600,000 cancer deaths were expected; more than 50,000 of those deaths would be from colorectal cancer (CRC). The CRC mortality rate in the US has decreased in recent decades, with a 51% drop between 1976 and 2014. This drop is attributed, in part, to the tremendous therapeutic improvements, especially after the 2000s, in addition to increased social awareness regarding risk factors and diagnostic improvement. Five-fluorouracil, irinotecan, capecitabine, and later oxaliplatin were the mainstays of mCRC treatment from the 1960s to 2002. Since then, more than a dozen drugs have been approved for the disease, betting on a new chapter in medicine, precision oncology, which uses patient and tumor characteristics to guide the therapeutic choice. Thus, this review will summarize the current literature on targeted therapies, highlighting the molecular biomarkers involved and their pathways.

Automated summary

In 2022, it is projected that around 600,000 deaths from cancer will occur, with over 50,000 of them being due to colorectal cancer (CRC). The mortality rate for CRC in the US has seen a significant decrease over the past few decades, dropping by 51% from 1976 to 2014. This decrease can be attributed to advancements in therapeutic approaches, particularly since the 2000s, as well as increased awareness of risk factors and improvements in diagnosis. The introduction of several drugs since the 1960s, such as five-fluorouracil, irinotecan, capecitabine, and later oxaliplatin, has been instrumental in the treatment of metastatic CRC (mCRC). Furthermore, the emergence of precision oncology, which utilizes patient and tumor characteristics to guide treatment decisions, has opened up new opportunities for targeted therapies. This review aims to summarize current literature on targeted therapies for CRC, with a focus on the molecular biomarkers involved and their pathways.