Colorectal cancer treatment.

INTRODUCTION

Colorectal cancer is the third most common malignancy in the developed countries, and about a quarter of people present with intestinal obstruction or perforation. Risk factors for colorectal cancer are mainly dietary and genetic. Overall 5-year survival is about 50%, with half of people having surgery experiencing recurrence of the disease.

METHODS AND OUTCOMES: We conducted a systematic review and aimed to answer the following clinical question: What are the effects of treatments for colorectal cancer? We searched: Medline, Embase, The Cochrane Library, and other important databases up to August 2008 (Clinical Evidence reviews are updated periodically, please check our website for the most up-to-date version of this review). We included harms alerts from relevant organisations such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

RESULTS

We found 57 systematic reviews, RCTs, or observational studies that met our inclusion criteria. We performed a GRADE evaluation of the quality of evidence for interventions.

CONCLUSIONS

In this systematic review we present information relating to the effectiveness and safety of the following interventions: adjuvant systemic chemotherapy, preoperative radiotherapy, and routine intensive follow-up.