Advancing precision medicine in colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC) exemplifies the steady progress we’ve made in cancer prevention and treatment, writes Dr Samuel Klempner, director of precision medicine at The Angeles Clinic & Research Institute, in the first oncology-themed Expert View piece being published around this year's ASCO Annual Meeting.

Screening, advances in laparoscopic surgery and the development of targeted therapies have helped reduce CRC mortality by more than half since the 1970s1. Beginning in the 1990s, the discovery that microsatellite instability (MSI) impacts response and benefit from cytotoxic treatments has led to reduced toxicity and costs. However, recent dramatic steps forward have been less frequent, and more work is needed to match patients to treatments, the ultimate goal of the precision medicine paradigm.

Looking beyond MSI