New treatments for advanced and metastatic colorectal cancer - Clinical applications

Abstract

In the last five years several new drugs have become available for the treatment of patients with advanced colorectal cancer. These drugs include raltitrexed, capecitabine, irinotecan and oxaliplatin. They have resulted in improved tumour response rates compared with older treatment regimens using 5-fluorouracil. Combinations of these drugs provide hope for future palliation of this common cancer.