Efficacy of the monoclonal antibody EGFR inhibitors for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer

Abstract

There are an estimated 22,000 new cases of colorectal
cancer (CRC) each year in Canada. CRC is the second leading cause of death from cancer after lung cancer, accounting for more than 9,000 deaths each year1. When diagnosed in the early stages of disease, CRC is associated with a five-year survival rate of up to 90%2. However, for those with metastatic CRC (mCRC), which represents approximately 20% of first diagnoses, the five-year survival rate is only 10%2,3. With
the introduction of treatments involving irinotecan or oxaliplatin in combination with fluorouracil and leucovorin, survival has improved for patients with mCRC over the past decade4-17. However, as most patients eventually develop resistance to these therapies, new active treatment options in this setting were needed. Insights into the molecular pathogenesis of CRC
prompted the development of specific target-directed therapies for the treatment of mCRC, including monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs) that target the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). The two anti-EGFR MoAbs approved in Canada for the treatment of mCRC are cetuximab, a mouse-human chimeric MoAb, and panitumumab, a fully human MoAb.