Colon and rectal cancer drugs are used to treat colon and rectal cancer. Colorectal cancer, also known as colon cancer, is a type of cancer that begins in the large intestine (colon). Treatment for colorectal cancer usually involves surgery to remove cancer. Other treatments, such as radiation therapy and chemotherapy, might also be recommended. Rectal cancer is a disease in which cancer cells develop in the rectum. Rectal cancer is curable, especially when detected early through screening methods like a colonoscopy.
Treatments include surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. Surgery is the removal of the tumor and some surrounding
healthy tissue during an operation. It is called surgical resection. This is
the most common treatment for colon and rectal cancer. Colon cancer can also be
treated using drugs, which can be given by mouth or directly into the blood
Some drugs commonly used for colorectal cancer include 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU),
Irinotecan (Camptosar), Capecitabine (Xeloda), Oxaliplatin (Eloxatin), and
Trifluridine and tipiracil (Lonsurf).
Due to a lack of development in the
neoadjuvant/adjuvant pipeline medicines for the treatment of high-risk
colorectal cancer, the colon
and rectal cancer market treatments grew more slowly.
While, drugs approved for rectal cancer
include 5Fluorouracil Injection, -FU (Fluorouracil Injection), Erbitux
(Cetuximab), Eloxatin (Oxaliplatin), Cyramza (Ramucirumab), Cetuximab,
Capecitabine, Bevacizumab, Avastin (Bevacizumab), Camptosar (Irinotecan
Hydrochloride), and Trifluridine and Tipiracil Hydrochloride, among others.
There are more colon cancer and rectal cancer drugs that are not listed here.
There is an increasing demand for colon and rectal cancer drugs due to the increasing prevalence of colon and rectal cancer worldwide.
Colon and rectal cancer is the third most
common cancer in both females and males, and colon cancer is the third most
common cancer diagnosed in both men and women in the United States. For
example, according to the American Cancer Society, in 2022, an estimated
106,180 new cases of colon cancer and 44,850 new cases of rectal cancer will be
diagnosed in the U.S. Moreover, in May 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) approved encorafenib (Braftovi) for the treatment of some
patients with colorectal cancer.