Fast Five Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Diagnosing and Treating Metastatic Colorectal Cancer?

Elwyn C. Cabebe, MD

July 02, 2019

Chemotherapy rather than surgery continues to be the standard management for patients with metastatic CRC. The role of biologic agents in the treatment of metastatic cancers has rapidly grown, and is increasingly guided by genetic analysis of the tumor.

At present, radiation therapy is limited to palliative therapy for selected metastatic sites, such as bone or brain metastases.

Adjuvant chemotherapy is standard treatment for patients with stage III disease; however, its use in patients with stage II disease is controversial. Ongoing studies are seeking to confirm which markers might identify patients with stage II disease who would benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy.

Surgery is considered the only curative modality for patients with localized colon cancer (stage I-III). Surgical resection potentially provides the only curative option for patients with limited metastatic disease in liver and/or lung (stage IV disease), but the judicious use of elective colon/rectal resection in nonobstructed patients with stage IV disease is a source of continuing debate.

For more on the treatment of CRC, read here.

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Any views expressed above are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of WebMD or Medscape.

Cite this: Elwyn C. Cabebe. Fast Five Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Diagnosing and Treating Metastatic Colorectal Cancer? - Medscape - Jul 02, 2019.

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