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  • Year in Review
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COLORECTAL CANCER IN 2018

New therapies and insights into the changing landscape of colorectal cancer

Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology volume 16, pages 79–80 (2019)Cite this article

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In 2018, advances were made in immunotherapy for colorectal cancers with microsatellite instability but, by contrast, immunotherapy studies in microsatellite-stable colorectal cancer had disappointing results. However, novel insights into the tumour microenvironment barriers that might limit therapeutic efficacy were identified, thereby offering new strategies.

Key advances

  • The incidence of colorectal cancer in young patients continues to rise leading to changes in a key guideline for age of first screening1.

  • Nivolumab and ipiliumumab in combination were approved for treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer with microsatellite instability3.

  • TGFβ was identified as a key modulator of the immunosuppressive tumour microenvironment in microsatellite stable colorectal cancer5.

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Fig. 1: Colorectal cancer immunotherapy advances in 2018.

References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA

    Scott Kopetz

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  1. Scott Kopetz
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Correspondence to Scott Kopetz.

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The author declares no competing interests.

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Kopetz, S. New therapies and insights into the changing landscape of colorectal cancer. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 16, 79–80 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41575-018-0100-z

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