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18 treatment settings, 16 with more than one named option. Each section lays out the options the standard of care names, what each is for, the trials behind them with their recorded results, the side effects and cautions on record, and questions to ask. Built from the cancer page's standard-of-care rows; nothing here is advice for your case.
Colonoscopy, FIT, Cologuard, Shield blood test from age 45.
The first FDA-approved blood test for colorectal cancer screening (2024), now optionally reporting other cancers too.
No trial record is attached to this row yet. The trials tab lists what is recruiting and the landmark trials for this cancer.
No side-effect rates or interaction flags are recorded for these options yet. The side-effect lookup and interaction checker cover the products that have them.
Add these to your appointment list, or take the full question set for this cancer.
Surgery; adjuvant chemotherapy guided by risk and (in trials) ctDNA; exercise programme.
Signatera is Natera's tumour-informed blood test that tracks 16 mutations from each patient's own tumour to detect residual or returning cancer after surgery. Medicare covers it in colorectal, breast, bladder, lung and ovarian cancer and for immunotherapy monitoring, and in 2026 it selected the bladder cancer patients for the first approval based on circulating tumour DNA.
Structured exercise during and after treatment, which the CHALLENGE trial showed improves survival in colon cancer.
Chemotherapy use 15% vs 28% with non-inferior RFS.
Add these to your appointment list, or take the full question set for this cancer.
Doublet/triplet chemotherapy + biologic by genotype; targeted combinations for BRAF, KRAS G12C, HER2.
Encorafenib is a BRAF inhibitor that, with cetuximab and chemotherapy, became first-line standard for BRAF-mutant colorectal cancer in 2026.
Sotorasib (Lumakras) was the first drug to hit KRAS, approved in 2021 after four decades of failure.
Adagrasib was the second KRAS G12C inhibitor, with a long half-life and brain penetration, and is approved in lung and colorectal cancer.
A HER2-selective pill that works in the brain, for HER2-positive breast cancer with brain metastases.
No trial record is attached to this row yet. The trials tab lists what is recruiting and the landmark trials for this cancer.
| Side effect | Any grade | Grade 3+ |
|---|---|---|
| Hepatotoxicity · CodeBreaK 100 | 25% | 12% |
| Interstitial lung disease · CodeBreaK 100 | 2.2% | 1.1% |
| Diarrhoea · CodeBreaK 100 | 42% | - |
| Musculoskeletal pain · CodeBreaK 100 | 35% | - |
Rates from the label or pivotal trial as recorded on the product page; each grade 3+ figure links to its source.
| Side effect | Any grade | Grade 3+ |
|---|---|---|
| Hepatotoxicity · KRYSTAL-1 NSCLC | 37% | 10% |
| Dyspnoea · KRYSTAL-1 NSCLC | 35% | 10% |
| Fatigue · KRYSTAL-1 NSCLC | 59% | 7% |
| Musculoskeletal pain · KRYSTAL-1 NSCLC | 41% | 7% |
Rates from the label or pivotal trial as recorded on the product page; each grade 3+ figure links to its source.
Add these to your appointment list, or take the full question set for this cancer.
Checkpoint inhibitors; organ preservation in rectal cancer.
Pembrolizumab is a PD-1 blocking antibody approved in more than 40 settings, from melanoma and lung cancer to the first tumour-agnostic approval for mismatch-repair-deficient tumours in 2017, and before and after surgery in triple-negative breast cancer. A subcutaneous form arrived in 2025, and it is the backbone partner for ADCs and personalised neoantigen vaccines.
Nivolumab was the second PD-1 blocker and is often combined with ipilimumab. Long-term data show about half of advanced melanoma patients alive at 10 years on the combination.
Dostarlimab is a PD-1 blocker famous for making rectal cancer disappear without surgery in every patient with a mismatch-repair-deficient tumour.
No trial record is attached to this row yet. The trials tab lists what is recruiting and the landmark trials for this cancer.
| Side effect | Any grade | Grade 3+ |
|---|---|---|
| Hypothyroidism (immune-mediated) · Pooled monotherapy data, >2,800 patients | 8% | - |
| Pneumonitis (immune-mediated) · Pooled monotherapy data, >2,800 patients | 3.4% | - |
| Colitis (immune-mediated) · Pooled monotherapy data, >2,800 patients | 1.7% | - |
| Hepatitis (immune-mediated) · Pooled monotherapy data, >2,800 patients | 0.7% | - |
Rates from the label or pivotal trial as recorded on the product page; each grade 3+ figure links to its source.
| Side effect | Any grade | Grade 3+ |
|---|---|---|
| Colitis with ipilimumab (1+3 mg/kg) · Monotherapy pooled unless stated | 25% | 14.4% |
| Hepatitis with ipilimumab · Monotherapy pooled unless stated | 15% | 13.4% |
| Colitis · Monotherapy pooled unless stated | 2.9% | 1.7% |
| Hepatitis · Monotherapy pooled unless stated | 1.8% | 1.5% |
Rates from the label or pivotal trial as recorded on the product page; each grade 3+ figure links to its source.
Add these to your appointment list, or take the full question set for this cancer.
Colonoscopy every 10 years, annual FIT, multitarget stool DNA every 3 years, CT colonography, or the Shield blood test every 3 years; start at 45 (USPSTF 2021). Lynch carriers: colonoscopy every 1-2 years from age 20-25.
Finding and removing polyps before they become cancer. Colonoscopy prevents cancer; stool and blood tests catch it early and get more people screened.
The first FDA-approved blood test for colorectal cancer screening (2024), now optionally reporting other cancers too.
No trial record is attached to this row yet. The trials tab lists what is recruiting and the landmark trials for this cancer.
Add these to your appointment list, or take the full question set for this cancer.
Surgical resection; observation for stage I and low-risk stage II. High-risk stage II (T4, obstruction, <12 nodes, LVI): consider 3-6 months fluoropyrimidine ± oxaliplatin; ctDNA-negative patients can safely omit (DYNAMIC). dMMR stage II derives no benefit from 5-FU alone.
CAPOX pairs the oral fluoropyrimidine capecitabine with intravenous oxaliplatin as a pill-based alternative to FOLFOX. For low-risk stage III colon cancer three months after surgery works as well as six and halves nerve damage; it is also standard in gastric cancer, with hand-foot syndrome as its price.
An ultra-sensitive blood test after surgery that detects leftover cancer months before a scan would.
Chemotherapy use 15% vs 28% with non-inferior RFS.
Add these to your appointment list, or take the full question set for this cancer.
Resection then adjuvant CAPOX for 3 months (T1-3 N1, low risk) or FOLFOX/CAPOX for 6 months (T4 or N2), per IDEA.
FOLFOX is the workhorse chemotherapy combination for bowel cancer, used after surgery to cure and in advanced disease as the backbone that targeted drugs are added to.
CAPOX pairs the oral fluoropyrimidine capecitabine with intravenous oxaliplatin as a pill-based alternative to FOLFOX. For low-risk stage III colon cancer three months after surgery works as well as six and halves nerve damage; it is also standard in gastric cancer, with hand-foot syndrome as its price.
No trial record is attached to this row yet. The trials tab lists what is recruiting and the landmark trials for this cancer.
No side-effect rates or interaction flags are recorded for these options yet. The side-effect lookup and interaction checker cover the products that have them.
Add these to your appointment list, or take the full question set for this cancer.
Resection then FOLFOX + atezolizumab for 12 months (ATOMIC, 3-year DFS 86% vs 77%). Neoadjuvant nivolumab + ipilimumab (NICHE-2) is an alternative under evaluation.
A PD-L1 blocker used in lung, liver, and bladder cancer. In 2026 it became the first drug approved based on a blood test showing leftover cancer after bladder surgery.
FOLFOX is the workhorse chemotherapy combination for bowel cancer, used after surgery to cure and in advanced disease as the backbone that targeted drugs are added to.
Averages across everyone diagnosed, often years ago. Your stage, subtype, age, fitness and the treatment you receive matter more than the average, and the numbers are improving quickly.
Averages across everyone diagnosed, often years ago. Your stage, subtype, age, fitness and the treatment you receive matter more than the average, and the numbers are improving quickly.
| Side effect | Any grade | Grade 3+ |
|---|---|---|
| Pneumonitis (immune-mediated) · Monotherapy pooled | 3% | 0.8% |
| Hepatitis (immune-mediated) · Monotherapy pooled | 1.8% | 0.7% |
| Colitis (immune-mediated) · Monotherapy pooled | 1% | 0.5% |
| Hypothyroidism (immune-mediated) · Monotherapy pooled | 4.9% | 0.2% |
Rates from the label or pivotal trial as recorded on the product page; each grade 3+ figure links to its source.
Add these to your appointment list, or take the full question set for this cancer.
Total neoadjuvant therapy: short-course radiation or long-course chemoradiation plus FOLFOX/CAPOX, then TME surgery or watch-and-wait for clinical complete response (OPRA). Non-operative management for select cCR.
IMRT and IGRT shape the radiation beam to the tumour's outline from multiple angles and check the patient's position with a scan before every session, so surrounding organs receive less dose. Fewer, larger doses are now standard in breast and prostate cancer, but a low-dose bath still spreads across normal tissue.
FOLFOX is the workhorse chemotherapy combination for bowel cancer, used after surgery to cure and in advanced disease as the backbone that targeted drugs are added to.
No trial record is attached to this row yet. The trials tab lists what is recruiting and the landmark trials for this cancer.
Add these to your appointment list, or take the full question set for this cancer.
Dostarlimab monotherapy for 6 months with organ preservation (MSK cohort 100% cCR; AZUR-1 registrational, PDUFA February 2027). Chemoradiation and surgery reserved for non-responders.
Dostarlimab is a PD-1 blocker famous for making rectal cancer disappear without surgery in every patient with a mismatch-repair-deficient tumour.
Primary endpoint (sustained cCR at 12 months) met; rates pending congress presentation.
No side-effect rates or interaction flags are recorded for these options yet. The side-effect lookup and interaction checker cover the products that have them.
Add these to your appointment list, or take the full question set for this cancer.
Pembrolizumab (KEYNOTE-177) or nivolumab + ipilimumab (CheckMate 8HW, PFS 54 months); nivolumab monotherapy alternative. Chemotherapy reserved for IO-refractory disease.
Pembrolizumab is a PD-1 blocking antibody approved in more than 40 settings, from melanoma and lung cancer to the first tumour-agnostic approval for mismatch-repair-deficient tumours in 2017, and before and after surgery in triple-negative breast cancer. A subcutaneous form arrived in 2025, and it is the backbone partner for ADCs and personalised neoantigen vaccines.
Nivolumab was the second PD-1 blocker and is often combined with ipilimumab. Long-term data show about half of advanced melanoma patients alive at 10 years on the combination.
Ipilimumab was the first checkpoint inhibitor (2011), and proved the immune system could be unleashed against cancer.
Averages across everyone diagnosed, often years ago. Your stage, subtype, age, fitness and the treatment you receive matter more than the average, and the numbers are improving quickly.
First-line PFS 54.1 vs 5.9 months (HR 0.21); combination vs nivolumab PFS HR 0.62.
| Side effect | Any grade | Grade 3+ |
|---|---|---|
| Hypothyroidism (immune-mediated) · Pooled monotherapy data, >2,800 patients | 8% | - |
| Pneumonitis (immune-mediated) · Pooled monotherapy data, >2,800 patients | 3.4% | - |
| Colitis (immune-mediated) · Pooled monotherapy data, >2,800 patients | 1.7% | - |
| Hepatitis (immune-mediated) · Pooled monotherapy data, >2,800 patients | 0.7% | - |
Rates from the label or pivotal trial as recorded on the product page; each grade 3+ figure links to its source.
| Side effect | Any grade | Grade 3+ |
|---|---|---|
| Colitis with ipilimumab (1+3 mg/kg) · Monotherapy pooled unless stated | 25% | 14.4% |
| Hepatitis with ipilimumab · Monotherapy pooled unless stated | 15% | 13.4% |
| Colitis · Monotherapy pooled unless stated | 2.9% | 1.7% |
| Hepatitis · Monotherapy pooled unless stated | 1.8% | 1.5% |
Rates from the label or pivotal trial as recorded on the product page; each grade 3+ figure links to its source.
| Side effect | Any grade | Grade 3+ |
|---|---|---|
| Colitis (with nivolumab 1+3) · Nivolumab 1 mg/kg + ipilimumab 3 mg/kg, melanoma | 25% | 14.4% |
| Hepatitis (with nivolumab) · Nivolumab 1 mg/kg + ipilimumab 3 mg/kg, melanoma | 15% | 13.4% |
| Rash (with nivolumab) · Nivolumab 1 mg/kg + ipilimumab 3 mg/kg, melanoma | 28% | 4.8% |
| Adrenal insufficiency (with nivolumab) · Nivolumab 1 mg/kg + ipilimumab 3 mg/kg, melanoma | 8% | 2.6% |
Rates from the label or pivotal trial as recorded on the product page; each grade 3+ figure links to its source.
Add these to your appointment list, or take the full question set for this cancer.
FOLFOX or FOLFIRI + panitumumab or cetuximab (PARADIGM OS 37.9 months); bevacizumab if anti-EGFR contraindicated. Maintenance fluoropyrimidine ± biologic after induction.
Panitumumab is a fully human EGFR antibody, the preferred first-line partner for chemotherapy in left-sided, RAS-normal bowel cancer after the PARADIGM trial.
Cetuximab is a chimeric antibody that blocks the EGFR growth receptor. It is used with FOLFIRI or FOLFOX in RAS wild-type, left-sided bowel cancer, with encorafenib in BRAF V600E disease, with KRAS G12C inhibitors, and with radiation or chemotherapy in head and neck cancer; RAS-mutant tumours gain nothing and may be harmed, so RAS testing comes first.
FOLFOX is the workhorse chemotherapy combination for bowel cancer, used after surgery to cure and in advanced disease as the backbone that targeted drugs are added to.
FOLFIRI is the other backbone bowel-cancer chemotherapy, swapping oxaliplatin for irinotecan. Used first or second line and, since 2026, with the BRAF combination.
OS 37.9 vs 34.3 months (HR 0.82) in left-sided RAS wild-type disease.
CRYSTAL KRAS-WT OS 23.5 vs 20.0 months; FIRE-3 OS 28.7 vs 25.0 months.
No side-effect rates or interaction flags are recorded for these options yet. The side-effect lookup and interaction checker cover the products that have them.
Add these to your appointment list, or take the full question set for this cancer.
FOLFOX, FOLFIRI, or FOLFOXIRI + bevacizumab; anti-EGFR contraindicated. KRAS G12D and other alleles: RAS(ON) inhibitors in trials.
Bevacizumab is a humanised antibody that soaks up VEGF-A, the signal tumours use to grow new blood vessels. Approved in 2004, it partners chemotherapy in colorectal, ovarian, cervical, lung, kidney and liver cancer and glioblastoma, and adds to trifluridine/tipiracil in late-line bowel cancer; hypertension, protein in the urine and bleeding are its characteristic side effects.
FOLFOX is the workhorse chemotherapy combination for bowel cancer, used after surgery to cure and in advanced disease as the backbone that targeted drugs are added to.
FOLFIRI is the other backbone bowel-cancer chemotherapy, swapping oxaliplatin for irinotecan. Used first or second line and, since 2026, with the BRAF combination.
The first drug that blocks all active RAS variants, approved by the FDA in August 2026 for metastatic pancreatic cancer, where KRAS drives 90% of tumours.
No trial record is attached to this row yet. The trials tab lists what is recruiting and the landmark trials for this cancer.
No side-effect rates or interaction flags are recorded for these options yet. The side-effect lookup and interaction checker cover the products that have them.
Add these to your appointment list, or take the full question set for this cancer.
First line: encorafenib + cetuximab + mFOLFOX6 or FOLFIRI (BREAKWATER, OS 30.3 vs 15.1 months). Later line: encorafenib + cetuximab (BEACON).
Encorafenib is a BRAF inhibitor that, with cetuximab and chemotherapy, became first-line standard for BRAF-mutant colorectal cancer in 2026.
Cetuximab is a chimeric antibody that blocks the EGFR growth receptor. It is used with FOLFIRI or FOLFOX in RAS wild-type, left-sided bowel cancer, with encorafenib in BRAF V600E disease, with KRAS G12C inhibitors, and with radiation or chemotherapy in head and neck cancer; RAS-mutant tumours gain nothing and may be harmed, so RAS testing comes first.
FOLFOX is the workhorse chemotherapy combination for bowel cancer, used after surgery to cure and in advanced disease as the backbone that targeted drugs are added to.
FOLFIRI is the other backbone bowel-cancer chemotherapy, swapping oxaliplatin for irinotecan. Used first or second line and, since 2026, with the BRAF combination.
OS 30.3 vs 15.1 months (HR 0.49); PFS 12.8 vs 7.1 months.
Add these to your appointment list, or take the full question set for this cancer.
Sotorasib + panitumumab (CodeBreaK 300) or adagrasib + cetuximab after chemotherapy; first-line trials ongoing.
Sotorasib (Lumakras) was the first drug to hit KRAS, approved in 2021 after four decades of failure.
Adagrasib was the second KRAS G12C inhibitor, with a long half-life and brain penetration, and is approved in lung and colorectal cancer.
Panitumumab is a fully human EGFR antibody, the preferred first-line partner for chemotherapy in left-sided, RAS-normal bowel cancer after the PARADIGM trial.
Cetuximab is a chimeric antibody that blocks the EGFR growth receptor. It is used with FOLFIRI or FOLFOX in RAS wild-type, left-sided bowel cancer, with encorafenib in BRAF V600E disease, with KRAS G12C inhibitors, and with radiation or chemotherapy in head and neck cancer; RAS-mutant tumours gain nothing and may be harmed, so RAS testing comes first.
PFS HR 0.49.
| Side effect | Any grade | Grade 3+ |
|---|---|---|
| Hepatotoxicity · CodeBreaK 100 | 25% | 12% |
| Interstitial lung disease · CodeBreaK 100 | 2.2% | 1.1% |
| Diarrhoea · CodeBreaK 100 | 42% | - |
| Musculoskeletal pain · CodeBreaK 100 | 35% | - |
Rates from the label or pivotal trial as recorded on the product page; each grade 3+ figure links to its source.
| Side effect | Any grade | Grade 3+ |
|---|---|---|
| Hepatotoxicity · KRYSTAL-1 NSCLC | 37% | 10% |
| Dyspnoea · KRYSTAL-1 NSCLC | 35% | 10% |
| Fatigue · KRYSTAL-1 NSCLC | 59% | 7% |
| Musculoskeletal pain · KRYSTAL-1 NSCLC | 41% | 7% |
Rates from the label or pivotal trial as recorded on the product page; each grade 3+ figure links to its source.
Add these to your appointment list, or take the full question set for this cancer.
Tucatinib + trastuzumab (MOUNTAINEER) or trastuzumab deruxtecan 5.4 mg/kg (DESTINY-CRC02) after chemotherapy; MOUNTAINEER-03 tests first-line use.
A HER2-selective pill that works in the brain, for HER2-positive breast cancer with brain metastases.
The first targeted antibody for a solid tumour (1998), which turned HER2-positive breast cancer from the worst subtype into one of the most treatable.
Trastuzumab deruxtecan (Enhertu) is the most successful ADC ever. It redefined HER2 by working in tumours with only tiny amounts of the protein, and in 2026 moved into early-stage breast cancer.
Phase 2 ORR 38.1%, DOR 12.4 months; phase 3 ongoing.
ORR 37.8% (5.4 mg/kg).
| Side effect | Any grade | Grade 3+ |
|---|---|---|
| Neutropenia · DESTINY-Breast03/04; all-grade rates ≥20% per label | - | 18% |
| Nausea · DESTINY-Breast03/04; all-grade rates ≥20% per label | - | 7% |
| Anaemia · DESTINY-Breast03/04; all-grade rates ≥20% per label | - | 7% |
| Fatigue · DESTINY-Breast03/04; all-grade rates ≥20% per label | - | 6% |
Rates from the label or pivotal trial as recorded on the product page; each grade 3+ figure links to its source.
Add these to your appointment list, or take the full question set for this cancer.
Trifluridine/tipiracil + bevacizumab (SUNLIGHT, OS 10.8 months), then fruquintinib (FRESCO-2) or regorafenib; NTRK inhibitor if fusion; clinical trials.
An oral chemotherapy pill for bowel cancer that has stopped responding to everything else; with bevacizumab it extends life by about three months.
A Chinese-discovered pill that blocks the blood-vessel receptors, approved in 2023 for bowel cancer after all standard treatments.
A sorafenib successor that became the first second-line drug proven to prolong life in liver cancer (2017).
Bevacizumab is a humanised antibody that soaks up VEGF-A, the signal tumours use to grow new blood vessels. Approved in 2004, it partners chemotherapy in colorectal, ovarian, cervical, lung, kidney and liver cancer and glioblastoma, and adds to trifluridine/tipiracil in late-line bowel cancer; hypertension, protein in the urine and bleeding are its characteristic side effects.
OS 10.8 vs 7.5 months, HR 0.61.
OS 7.4 vs 4.8 months, HR 0.66.
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Resection, thermal ablation, or SBRT with curative intent after multidisciplinary review; perioperative chemotherapy; 5-year survival 30-50% after complete resection of liver metastases.
Thermal ablation kills a tumour with heat or cold delivered through a needle, with no incision required.
Stereotactic body radiotherapy converges multiple beams with sub-millimetre accuracy to deliver tumour-destroying doses in one to five outpatient sessions, doing the job of surgery for inoperable early lung cancer and for metastases in liver, spine and brain. Tumour size and location limit its use, and late toxicity is a concern near the central airways.
Surgeons operate through small incisions using robotic arms with tremor-free precision and 3D vision.
No trial record is attached to this row yet. The trials tab lists what is recruiting and the landmark trials for this cancer.
Add these to your appointment list, or take the full question set for this cancer.