Cetuximab for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer - From the result of recent clinical trials

Cetuximab is a monoclonal antibody that inhibits human epidermal growth factor receptor, and was approved for metastatic advanced colorectal cancer (mCRC) in 2008 in Japan. Evidences confirming the efficacy of cetuximab have been accumulated in western countries. As the first- and second-line therapy, cetuximab plus chemotherapy showed longer survival compared with chemotherapy alone. As a third-line chemotherapy, among various anti-cancer agents for mCRC, only cetuximab could exhibit survival benefits in monotherapy or combination therapy with irinotecan. Recent studies suggest that the status of KRAS mutation is a predictive marker in colorectal cancer patients treated with cetuximab, and these findings lead to personalized cancer treatment.