Aflibercept as a treatment for malignant tumors

Abstract

Targeted therapy for colorectal cancer usually includes anti-vEgf and anti-EgfR antibodies. The initiation of first-line therapy for metastatic colorectal cancer depends on the baseline patient’s characteristics, tumor spread, and its mutational status. Despite the wide range of possible combinations of these factors, an oncologist should choose between standard platinum-based chemotherapy regimens and combination of similar chemotherapeutic agents with bevacizumab or cetuximab. Disease progression after first-line therapy poses a dilemma to an oncologist, since the range of potentially beneficial targeted drugs or immunotherapeutic agents is much wider along with the lack of sufficient evidence. This article focuses on the efficacy of aflibercept as a second-line treatment for colorectal cancer, indications for its use, and outlooks.

Keywords

• colorectal cancer
• metastatic colorectal cancer
• targeted therapy
• aflibercept