An introduction to the current management of colorectal cancer in the era of personalized oncology

Until recently, disease indications for anticancer drugs have typically been based on histological findings and cancer staging. Remarkably, several predictive biomarkers have been recently added to conventional schemes to select patients who may be more likely to benefit from treatments. In colorectal cancer, fluoropyrimidine-based chemotherapy is still the backbone of systemic treatment. Other drugs such as irinotecan and oxaliplatin as well as emerging targeted agents combined with 5-fluorouracil have significantly improved survival rates. Moreover, the advent of precision oncology procedures has enabled better decisionmaking algorithms particularly with implementation of molecular pathology and targeted anticancer agents, including immune-checkpoint inhibitors that may radically change the management of this disease and its outcomes in the coming years.