Second-line therapy for advanced colorectal carcinoma.

The past decade has witnessed considerable advances in the treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC). The emergence and integration into clinical practice of new cytotoxic agents, such as irinotecan and oxaliplatin, has had a significant impact on outcomes from advanced CRC with median survivals of 18 to 21 months now achievable. Improvements in survival as a consequence of using these drugs as salvage therapies ultimately led to demonstration of efficacy for both in the first-line treatment of CRC. As the importance of second-line therapy is increasingly recognized, key issues, such as optimal schedules, chemotherapy combinations, and sequential therapy, need to be addressed. The integration of newer biologic agents, such as cetuximab and bevacizumab, for which recent data have emerged, has further added to the complexities of delivering therapy to patients with advanced CRC, heralding a new treatment era for this disease.