IMblaze 370: lessons learned and future strategies in colorectal cancer treatment

Despite recent advances in systemic treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) where surgical resection is not possible, 5-year overall survival (OS) rates are still poor. Beyond the standard first and second-line combinations of fluoropyrimidine, oxaliplatin and irinotecan with VEGF and EGFR inhibitors where appropriate, there has been little success in finding additional systemic treatment options to significantly prolong survival. With the exception of mismatch repair (MMR) deficient colorectal cancers, checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy has not yielded the same promising results as it has in a number of other malignancies.