Improving Rectal Cancer Outcomes with Chemotherapy

During the last five years there have been significant advances in chemotherapy treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer. With the new drugs that are available, median survival of patients with metastatic disease has increased-from 6 months in the early 1990s to 24 months or longer in 2005. The advances in systemic chemotherapy for colorectal cancer, and the availability of three cytotoxic and two targeted monoclonal antibodies, means that patients currently have a wider array of options than ever before. It is necessary for surgeons, radiation oncologists, and medical oncologists to work collaboratively, communicating well and identifying mutually agreed-upon treatment recommendations, in order to deliver optimal care to rectal cancer patients. This article summarizes important advances in treatment, and reviews multidisciplinary approaches to treatment decision-making in both the adjuvant and metastatic settings.