New Drugs in the Frontier of Treatment of Metastatic Colorectal Cancer

There have been great strides made in colon cancer therapy over the last 20 years, with the addition of oxaliplatin and irinotecan to the 5-fluorouracil backbone, and introduction of biologic agents targeting the vascular endothelial growth factor and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) pathways. Across the world researchers have elucidated the pathways involved in colon cancer tumorigenesis, and developed drugs designed to inhibit specific targets and overcome resistance to therapy. This article reviews drugs targeting angiogenesis, the EGFR pathway, the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway, and discusses additional novel agents.