Update on clinical data with regimens inhibiting angiogenesis and epidermal growth factor receptor for patients with newly diagnosed metastatic colorectal cancer.

As a result of the development of novel chemotherapeutic drugs and targeted biologic agents, the treatment of colon cancer has changed significantly over the past 10 years. Today, we have more active agents to use in colon cancer than ever before. The better understanding underlying the pathogenesis of this disease at the molecular level has allowed us to take advantage of 2 key pathways, the angiogenic and epidermal growth factor (EGF) signaling pathways. The combination of traditional chemotherapy drugs with agents that inhibit these pathways has led to a significant improvement in survival. At present, patients with metastatic colon cancer routinely achieve a median survival time > 2 years. The numerous agents available have made the choice of initial treatment more difficult for a newly diagnosed patient. Herein, we review the 2 main molecular targets of biologic therapy in colon cancer and examine the clinical evidence for regimens that inhibit angiogenesis and EGF receptor alone or in combination for newly diagnosed metastatic colorectal cancer.