Current Trends in the Treatment of CRC

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Immunotherapies have not gained traction in colorectal cancer (CRC), despite their promise in lung cancer, renal cell carcinoma, and melanoma, John Marshall, MD, notes. In general, about 60% of patients with CRC do not have a targetable mutation, suggesting these patients might be ideal for immunotherapy, Alan Venook, MD, believes.

Johanna Bendell, MD, notes that several practice-changing trials were presented at the 2014 GI Cancers Symposium that demonstrated the importance of testing for BRAF mutations and performing an expanded KRAS analysis in all patients with CRC. The identification of additional markers for response remains an unmet need, according to Heinz-Josef Lenz, MD. Along these lines, biomarkers and the utilization of molecular test results are a major theme for research in GI cancers, suggests Marwan Fakih, MD.