KRAS mutation in metastatic colorectal cancer and its impact on the use of EGFR inhibitors.

As with many malignancies, cytogenetic information has become increasingly important to the diagnosis and proper treatment of colorectal cancer. In particular, several recent studies have confirmed that KRAS is not only one of the most commonly mutated genes in colorectal cancer, but also essential to treatment decision-making. Several key studies have demonstrated that patients with mutant KRAS do not respond to treatment with epidermal growth factor inhibitors. This finding has several implications for clinicians who treat patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. The following monograph includes discussions on the key issues surrounding the integration of recent data on KRAS status into the care of patients with this disease.