Based on: Colorectal Cancer — gene targets, candidate compounds and trials, OSMF Research Tracker (DGIdb, Open Targets, ChEMBL, PubMed and ClinicalTrials.gov data). Numbers are a snapshot taken 8 October 2026; the tracker page is the live version.
Short answer: as of October 2026, the OSMF Research Tracker lists 58 candidate interventions for colorectal Cancer that are either approved medicines or have at least one registered clinical trial, built on 12 druggable gene targets, with 14 recent trials on ClinicalTrials.gov. 5 are already approved medicines, for this condition or another one; where the approval is for a different condition, the trial is testing a new use, which is what drug repurposing means. Being in a trial says an intervention is being studied, not that it works; that is what the trial is for.
Which candidates have the most trial activity?
Ranked by the number of registered trials the tracker found. Each trial ID links to the registry entry, where you can read the design, status and sponsor.
- Cetuximab — 3 registered trials · approved medicine · NCT05104567 NCT04793958 NCT05355701
- Fluorouracil — 3 registered trials · investigational · NCT02414009 NCT05355701 NCT00026273
- Pembrolizumab — 3 registered trials · investigational · NCT02432963 NCT05104567 NCT02437136
- Bevacizumab — 2 registered trials · approved medicine · NCT06307249 NCT00460603
- Capecitabine — 2 registered trials · approved medicine · NCT02414009 NCT00123851
- oxaliplatin — 2 registered trials · approved medicine · NCT05355701 NCT00123851
- entinostat — 2 registered trials · investigational · NCT02437136 NCT03215264
- FOLFIRI Regimen — 2 registered trials · investigational · NCT04793958 NCT00026273
- Leucovorin — 2 registered trials · investigational · NCT02414009 NCT05355701
- Irinotecan — 1 registered trial · approved medicine · NCT02414009
- ABI-1968 — 1 registered trial · investigational · NCT03202992
- AZD2171 — 1 registered trial · investigational · NCT00494221
Which gene targets are these built on?
The tracker starts from genes with evidence of being druggable in colorectal Cancer and asks which compounds act on them. Each symbol links to its DGIdb entry, which lists the interacting drugs and the papers behind them: BRAF, EGFR, ERBB2, KDR, KRAS, MLH1, MSH2, NTRK1, PDCD1, TOP1, TYMS, VEGFA.
Which trials are registered?
- Evaluation for NCI Surgery Branch Clinical Research Protocols NCT00001823 · Recruiting · started 1999-07-11
- A Study to Assess Adverse Events and Change in Disease Activity in Adult Participants Receiving Intravenously Infused Telisotuzumab Adizutecan Alone or With Standard of Care in Participants With Post Adjuvant Circulating Tumor DNA Positive Colorectal Cancer and No Radiographic Evidence of Disease NCT07023289 · Recruiting · Phase PHASE2 · started 2025-09-02
- Genomic Services Research Program NCT02595957 · Recruiting · started 2014-09-16
- A Phase 1a/1b, First-Time-in-Human Study of CT-202, a Nectin-4 Directed Bispecific Antibody, in Participants With Recurring Triple Negative Breast, Colorectal, Urothelial Cancers NCT07545122 · Recruiting · Phase PHASE1 · started 2026-09
- Symbiotic-GI-03: A Study to Learn About the Study Medicine Called PF-08634404 in Combination With Chemotherapy in Adult Participants With Metastatic Colorectal Cancer NCT07222800 · Recruiting · Phase PHASE3 · started 2025-12-11
- Obtaining Solid Tumor Tissue From People Having Biopsy or Surgery for Certain Types of Cancer NCT01915225 · Recruiting · started 2013-07-21
- A Study of Precemtabart Tocentecan With or Without Bevacizumab Compared to Trifluridine/Tipiracil Plus Bevacizumab in Participants With Previously Treated Metastatic Colorectal Cancer (PROCEADE-CRC-03) NCT07549412 · Recruiting · Phase PHASE3 · started 2026-05-06
- ColoSeal™ ICD System Anastomotic Protection Pivotal Study NCT07429110 · Active Not Recruiting · Phase NA · started 2026-06-19
- A Single Center Evaluation of AI Enabled SureForm Robotic Stapler (SureformTM) Compared to Conventional Stapler for Colorectal Cancer Procedures NCT07371832 · Recruiting · started 2026-01-19
- Oncology, Undernutrition and Sensoriality: Links, Mechanisms and Levers for Action NCT06600295 · Recruiting · started 2024-09-06
How to read this
Evidence is graded on the tracker page in three tiers: clinical (tested in people), mechanistic (a documented action on the target) and correlative (an association in the literature). Most candidates sit in the lower tiers, and many trials are small or early-phase. The purpose of this list is to show where the research is, with sources, so that patients, clinicians and researchers can look further; it is not a ranking of what to take.
Related on this site
Research information, not medical advice. Decisions about any medicine belong with you and your clinician. The underlying data are open (CC BY 4.0) and refreshed daily; this note was generated from the tracker page on 8 October 2026.