title: Emerging therapies for colorectal cancer.
abstract: Colorectal carcinoma is a leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide. Survival for patients with metastatic disease is approximately 2 years on average and there is an ongoing need for the identification of new therapeutic agents. As the cancer research community has appreciated, newly discovered pathways governing cancer cell growth, survival, apoptosis, invasion and angiogenesis--all a host of potential therapeutic targets--have come into view. Basic research, preclinical data and observations arising from early stage trials have pointed towards possible roles for many of these agents in the future treatment of colorectal cancer. In this review, the authors summarize agents in development, modulating several of the most promising molecules and pathways that are thought to be relevant to colorectal cancer.
authors.affiliation: Tucker Gosnell Center for Gastrointestinal Cancers, Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA. ahezel@partners.org
authors.forename: Aram F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Hezel
authors.forename: David P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Ryan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D064127:Aurora Kinases; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D066246:ErbB Receptors / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011494:Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D019859:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-met; D017978:Receptors, Growth Factor / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases; D019061:src-Family Kinases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D064127:Aurora Kinases; D066246:ErbB Receptors; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors; D011494:Protein Kinases; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D019859:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-met; D017978:Receptors, Growth Factor; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases; D019061:src-Family Kinases; C546842:MTOR protein, human; C491743:MET protein, human