Advances and prospects of drug clinical research in colorectal cancer in 2022

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Clinical research results have provided more treatment opportunities for CRC patients, showing that an optimal combination of existing drugs and new drugs is needed to mitigate the burden of this disease. In this review, we have summarized recent advances in drug clinical research for CRC in 2022, including chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy, to find opportunities for substantial improvements in drug discovery and clinical development methods. Colorectal cancer (CRC) represents the leading cause of cancer‐related death worldwide. The advent of fluorouracil in 1962 ushered in a new era of anticolorectal cancer drugs in the treatment of CRC; the rapid advancement of molecularly targeted therapy and immunotherapy has also offered a new therapeutic paradigm for patients. This article reviews the most recent studies in the field of CRC in 2022, which will be presented in terms of three aspects: chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy.