Predictive factors for chemotherapy-related toxic effects in patients with colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer represents a major health problem in the Western world. Many drugs have been used for the treatment of this disease, but there is little information about how predictive factors can be used to aid treatment response and anticipate toxic effects related to anticancer treatment in colorectal cancer. In this Review we analyze the main data about this field of investigation, and highlight the most important predictive factors that relate to the toxic effects experienced by colorectal cancer patients treated with anticancer chemotherapy, both in the adjuvant and in the advanced settings. The predictive factors are grouped on the basis of the different anticancer drugs. We discuss the rationale for tailoring anticancer treatment in patients with colorectal cancer according to individual molecular and clinical features, with the aim of improving response rates and reducing the incidence of toxic events.