Dr. Loaiza-Bonilla on Trial of Left- and Right-Sided Colorectal Cancer

Arturo Loaiza-Bonilla, MD, medical oncologist, specializing in gastrointestinal malignancies, assistant professor of Clinical Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, discusses a clinical trial focused on the differences between left- and right-sided tumors of colorectal cancer (CRC).

The most recent data that have been presented regarding the sidedness of CRC has been investigated, explains Loaiza-Bonilla. Patients with right-sided CRC, regardless of the chemotherapy they receive, are going to have different survival outcomes compared with patients with left-sided tumors.

When looking at that data it is important to look for specific mutations, genomic alterations, or any molecular underpinning that may explain the reason as to why these patients have less effective outcomes, says Loaiza-Bonilla.