Tailored treatment of colorectal cancer: Surgical, molecular, and genetic considerations

Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a complex cancer disease, and approximately 40% of the surgically cured patients will experience cancer recurrence within 5 years. During recent years, research has shown that CRC treatment should be tailored to the individual patient due to the wide variety of risk factors, genetic factors, and surgical complexity. In this review, we provide an overview of the considerations that are needed to provide an individualized, patient-tailored treatment. We emphasize the need to assess the predictors of CRC, and we summarize the latest research on CRC genetics and immunotherapy. Finally, we provide a summary of the significant variations in the colon and rectal anatomy that is important to consider in an individualized surgical approach. For the individual patient with CRC, a tailored treatment approach is needed in the preoperative, operative, and postoperative phase.