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Survival in metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) has improved steadily during the past decade, thanks to the advent of new chemotherapeutic and biologic agents. Monoclonal antibodies that block epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFRs) have single-agent activity in CRC and help to overcome resistance to irinotecan (Campostar) when they are combined with irinotecan-based chemotherapy. Treatment with cetuximab (Erbitux) has been shown to improve progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in patients with refractory disease (JW Oncol Hematol Nov 14 2007). However, accumulating data indicate that mutations leading to activation of the K-ras oncogene prevent response to EGFR-targeted agents (JW Oncol Hematol Feb 19 2008).
To examine …