Which treatment in first line? The European approach

In industrialized countries, colorectal cancer is the second most common malignancy after lung cancer in men and breast cancer in women. In Europe in 1990, there were approximately 170 000 new cases and over 90 000 deaths due to the disease.1 It is generally considered that half of the patients presenting with colorectal cancer have or will further develop metastatic disease. When surgery is not possible, the efficiency of chemotherapy has been clearly established in firstline as well as in second-line treatment.