Since the early 1990s, postoperative adjuvant chemoradiotherapy was widely viewed as the main approach to treat patients with stage II and III rectal cancer. Over the past few years, significant efforts have shifted towards developing neoadjuvant approaches, which combine chemotherapy with radiotherapy prior to surgical resection. More »

SAN FRANCISCO—Routine KRAS testing in colon cancer patients received a major boost in January when ASCO issued a provisional clinical statement in favor of pretreatment genetic screening in metastatic disease. But KRAS is only the first step toward personalized medicine in colorectal cancer, according to reports presented at the 2009 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium. In fact, colon cancer treatment is headed in the same direction as breast cancer, with other genetic polymorphisms emerging as... More »

STOCKHOLM—For rectal cancer patients, a multidisciplinary team is critical to success because it increases the possibility of a curative resection, Andres Cervantes, MD, associate professor of medicine at University Hospital, Valencia, Spain, said at ESMO 2008. “Every patient should be treated within an expert multidisciplinary team,” he emphasized. More »

Minsky and Guillem should be commended for this excellent review and for addressing major areas of controversy in the management of rectal cancer. More »

Neoadjuvant chemoradiation has become the favored adjuvant treatment for stages II and III rectal cancer. Compared to postoperative chemoradiation, this modality of treatment has been shown to be superior in terms of toxicity, local relapse, and sphincter-saving.[1] This article will focus on the evolution of neoadjuvant chemotherapy over the past 2 decades, current acceptable neoadjuvant standards, and current investigational regimens. More »

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) are often overexpressed in colorectal cancer and are associated with inferior outcomes. Based on successful randomized phase III trials, anti-EGFR and anti-VEGF therapeutics have entered clinical practice. Cetuximab (Erbitux), an EGFR-specific antibody, is currently approved in the United States in combination with irinotecan (Camptosar) for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer refractory to irinotecan or... More »

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) are often overexpressed in colorectal cancer and are associated with inferior outcomes. Based on successful randomized phase III trials, anti-EGFR and anti-VEGF therapeutics have entered clinical practice. Cetuximab (Erbitux), an EGFR-specific antibody, is currently approved in the United States in combination with irinotecan (Camptosar) for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer refractory to irinotecan or... More »

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) are often overexpressed in colorectal cancer and are associated with inferior outcomes. Based on successful randomized phase III trials, anti-EGFR and anti-VEGF therapeutics have entered clinical practice. Cetuximab (Erbitux), an EGFR-specific antibody, is currently approved in the United States in combination with irinotecan (Camptosar) for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer refractory to irinotecan or... More »

OXFORD, England -- A moderately high daily dose of aspirin taken long term may reduce colorectal cancer risk, but gastroenterologists should be cautious about recommending it, researchers said. More »

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- Although aspirin and NSAIDs such as ibuprofen can reduce the occurrence rate of colon cancer, they're not worth the increased risk of gastrointestinal side effects, said the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. More »

Adjuvant therapy with chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy in addition to surgery improves outcome for patients with high-risk carcinomas of the colon or rectum. For colon cancer, fluorouracil (5-FU) combined with leucovorin is a current standard of care that improves long-term survival. A recent European trial (MOSAIC) has documented significant improvement in 3-year disease-free survival when oxaliplatin (Eloxatin) was added to infusional 5-FU and leucovorin in the FOLFOX regimen. Two US... More »

The US National Cancer Institute Gastrointestinal Intergroup has contributed to the development of chemotherapy and radiation regimens for the treatment of stage II and III rectal cancer. The first Intergroup trial demonstrated improvement in relapse-free and overall survival for patients who received protracted venous infusion fluorouracil (5-FU) with radiation compared to those treated with bolus 5-FU. More »