Initial clinical results of MEK inhibitors have yielded limited single-agent activity in colorectal cancer, indicating that rational combination strategies are needed.
Interestingly, combination of RTK and MEK inhibitors led to concomitant inhibition of PI3K and MEK signaling, marked growth suppression, and robust apoptosis of human KRAS mutant colorectal cancer cell lines in vitro and upon xenografting in mice.
Detection of the V600E hotspot mutation in BRAF oncogene is extremely useful for the screening of hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (Lynch's syndrome) and for the prediction of sensitivity to MEK inhibitors.