Summary
Trastuzumab has reached the approved stage (maximum clinical phase 4) for at least one indication, so its use in Colorectal Cancer would be drug repurposing rather than first-in-human development. This does not mean it is approved for Colorectal Cancer. ClinicalTrials.gov lists 8 registered trials linking Trastuzumab to Colorectal Cancer: 2 are currently recruiting; 2 have completed; 4 are terminated, withdrawn, suspended or of unknown status. The most advanced is Phase 3 (NCT05253651). It plans or enrolled 400 participants. Registration activity spans 1999 to 2025. The literature layer holds 16 publications for this pair: 4 Cochrane reviews, 1 meta-analysis, 2 systematic reviews, 4 randomised controlled trial publications and 5 clinical trial publications. Publication years run from 2008 to 2026. Because at least one synthesis-level source exists (systematic review, meta-analysis or Cochrane review), this pair has been assessed beyond single studies, although the synthesis may concern a different indication.
The RepurpOS disease-intelligence file for Colorectal Cancer ranks 1212 candidate therapeutics from Open Targets, ChEMBL, DGIdb and PubMed; only a minority carry direct clinical evidence, and this page covers one of those. Spontaneous remission context recorded for the condition: Essentially zero; 5-year survival stage I: ~90% (resectable); stage IV: ~15% overall, ~20-30% with modern therapy and liver metastasis resection.
Evidence table
| Evidence tier | A · Strong |
|---|---|
| Evidence score | 69.5 (trials 19.5, literature 30.0, tier 15, approved bonus 5.0) |
| Registered trials | 8 total: 2 recruiting, 0 active / not yet recruiting, 2 completed, 4 other |
| Linked publications | 16 (5 clinical trial publications, 4 Cochrane reviews, 4 randomised controlled trial publications, 2 systematic reviews, 1 meta-analysis) |
| Agent type | Drug (Small molecule) |
| Development stage (any indication) | Approved |
| Mechanism / class | Not recorded |
| Data sources | DGIdb |
| Linked via biomarker / target | ARID1A |
How the evidence score is calculated
- Each registered trial scores by status (recruiting / active / enrolling 3, completed 2.5, not yet recruiting 2, unknown 1, terminated / withdrawn / suspended 0.5) plus a phase bonus (phase 3-4 +2, phase 2 +1, phase 1 +0.5). The trial component is capped at 30.
- Each literature item scores by design (Cochrane review 5, meta-analysis 4, systematic review 3, RCT 3, clinical trial publication 2, curated reference 1.5, other PubMed record 1). The literature component is capped at 30.
- The existing evidence tier adds 15 (A / Strong), 10 (B / Moderate), 5 (C / Preliminary) or 0 (D / Anecdotal).
- Agents approved for any indication (max clinical phase 4) add 5, because an approved agent has an established safety profile that lowers the barrier to repurposing trials.
- The score ranks what has been studied, not what works. It does not read effect sizes or directions of effect.
Registered clinical trials
| NCT ID | Title | Status | Phase | Enrolment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCT05253651 | A Study of Tucatinib With Trastuzumab and mFOLFOX6 Versus Standard of Care Treatment in First-line HER2+ Metastatic Colorectal Cancer 2022 | recruiting | Phase 3 | 400 |
| NCT03384940 | DS-8201a in Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor2 (HER2)-Expressing Colorectal Cancer (DESTINY-CRC01) 2018 | completed | Phase 2 | 86 |
| NCT00003995 | Monoclonal Antibody Plus Chemotherapy in Treating Patients With Advanced Colorectal Cancer That Overexpresses HER2 1999 | completed | Phase 2 | 32 |
| NCT00006015 | Combination Chemotherapy Plus Trastuzumab in Treating Patients With Advanced, Recurrent, or Metastatic Colorectal Cancer 2000 | terminated | Phase 2 | 26 |
| NCT07216105 | FT836 With or Without Chemotherapy and/or Monoclonal Antibodies, in Participants With Advanced Solid Tumors 2025 | recruiting | Phase 1 | 113 |
| NCT05395052 | FT536 Monotherapy and in Combination With Monoclonal Antibodies in Advanced Solid Tumors 2022 | terminated | Phase 1 | 5 |
| NCT03843749 | Pyrotinib in Combination With Trastuzumab in Treatment-refractory, HER2-positive Metastatic Colorectal Cancar. 2019 | status unknown | Not applicable | 30 |
| NCT04464967 | Safety and Preliminary Efficacy of SNK01 in Combination With Trastuzumab or Cetuximab in Subjects With Advanced HER2 or EGFR Cancers 2021 | withdrawn | PHASE1, PHASE2 | — |
Published literature
- Clinical trial publication Trastuzumab Rezetecan in Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2-Expressing Advanced Gastric Cancer or Gastroesophageal Junction Adenocarcinoma and Colorectal Cancer: A Multicenter, Open-Label, Phase I TrialLiu T, Luo S, Yuan X et al. · Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology · 2026 · PMID 41779980
- Clinical trial publication Tucatinib plus trastuzumab for chemotherapy-refractory, HER2 + , RAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer (MOUNTAINEER): final analysisStrickler JH, Cercek A, Siena S et al. · Nature communications · 2026 · PMID 41526345
- Meta-analysis Tissue-Agnostic Targeting in Solid Tumors: A PRISMA-Compliant Meta-Analysis of Efficacy, Safety, and Resistance Determinants Across HistologiesBalaha M, Aldosari SA, Alamer AA et al. · Oncology research · 2026 · PMID 42358834
- Systematic review Diagnosis and treatment of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive metastatic colorectal cancer: a systematic literature reviewSiena S, Chalabi M, Goodwin R et al. · Cancer treatment reviews · 2026 · PMID 41763144
- Clinical trial publication Pyrotinib Plus Trastuzumab as an Effective Later-Line Therapeutic Strategy for HER2-Positive Metastatic Colorectal Cancer: Results from a Phase II StudyYang W, Zhang J, Wu G et al. · Drug design, development and therapy · 2025 · PMID 41306942
- Clinical trial publication NSABP FC-11: A phase II study of neratinib plus trastuzumab or neratinib plus cetuximab in patients with "quadruple wild-type" (KRAS/NRAS/BRAF/PIK3CA) metastatic colorectal cancer based on HER2 status: amplified, non-amplified (wild-type), or mutatedFreeman TJ, George TJ, Jacobs SA et al. · Cancer chemotherapy and pharmacology · 2025 · PMID 40782152
- Clinical trial publication Tucatinib and trastuzumab in HER2-mutated metastatic breast cancer: a phase 2 basket trialOkines AFC, Curigliano G, Mizuno N et al. · Nature medicine · 2025 · PMID 39825152
- Randomized controlled trial Trastuzumab Plus Pertuzumab Versus Cetuximab Plus Irinotecan in Patients With RAS/BRAF Wild-Type, HER2-Positive, Metastatic Colorectal Cancer (S1613): A Randomized Phase II TrialRaghav KPS, Guthrie KA, Tan B Jr et al. · Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology · 2025 · PMID 39761503
- Cochrane review Biosimilar monoclonal antibodies for cancer treatment in adultsGalvao TF, Livinalli A, Lopes LC et al. · The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024 · PMID 39607013
- Randomized controlled trial Trastuzumab deruxtecan in patients with HER2-positive advanced colorectal cancer (DESTINY-CRC02): primary results from a multicentre, randomised, phase 2 trialRaghav K, Siena S, Takashima A et al. · The Lancet. Oncology · 2024 · PMID 39116902
- Randomized controlled trial Trastuzumab and Pertuzumab in Patients with Non-Breast/Gastroesophageal HER2-Amplified Tumors: Results from the NCI-MATCH ECOG-ACRIN Trial (EAY131) Subprotocol JConnolly RM, Wang V, Hyman DM et al. · Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research · 2024 · PMID 38433347
- Cochrane review A Meta-Analysis to Assess the Efficacy of HER2-Targeted Treatment Regimens in HER2-Positive Metastatic Colorectal Cancer (mCRC)Chitkara A, Bakhtiar M, Sahin IH et al. · Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2023 · PMID 37754515
- Cochrane review Efficacy and safety of trastuzumab deruxtecan in patients with solid tumors: a systematic review and meta-analysis of 3 randomized controlled trialsCai ZL, Yang HT, Huang T et al. · American journal of cancer research · 2023 · PMID 37693138
- Randomized controlled trial Tucatinib plus trastuzumab for chemotherapy-refractory, HER2-positive, RAS wild-type unresectable or metastatic colorectal cancer (MOUNTAINEER): a multicentre, open-label, phase 2 studyStrickler JH, Cercek A, Siena S et al. · The Lancet. Oncology · 2023 · PMID 37142372
- Cochrane review Efficacy and safety of HER2-targeted inhibitors for metastatic colorectal cancer with HER2-amplified: A meta-analysisGao M, Jiang T, Li P et al. · Pharmacological research · 2022 · PMID 35781058
- Systematic review Will targeted therapy hold its promise? An evidence-based reviewMurdoch D, Sager J · Current opinion in oncology · 2008 · PMID 18043264
Mechanism and notes
No mechanism of action is recorded for this pair in the source databases.
OSMF's existing evidence tier for this pair is A (Strong), derived from the strength of the disease association recorded in DGIdb, in this case via the biomarker or target ARID1A. The tier describes how well the drug-disease link is documented, not how well the drug works.
Frequently asked questions
Is Trastuzumab approved for Colorectal Cancer?
Trastuzumab has reached the approved stage (maximum clinical phase 4) for at least one indication, so its use in Colorectal Cancer would be drug repurposing rather than first-in-human development. This does not mean it is approved for Colorectal Cancer. Approval status for the specific indication should always be confirmed with the relevant regulator and prescribing information.
Is Trastuzumab in clinical trials for Colorectal Cancer?
ClinicalTrials.gov lists 8 registered trials linking Trastuzumab to Colorectal Cancer: 2 are currently recruiting; 2 have completed; 4 are terminated, withdrawn, suspended or of unknown status. The most advanced is Phase 3 (NCT05253651). It plans or enrolled 400 participants. Registration activity spans 1999 to 2025.
What does the evidence show for Trastuzumab in Colorectal Cancer?
Trastuzumab has both completed registered trials and synthesis-level publications linked to Colorectal Cancer. That is the strongest profile in this database, but the summaries here do not extract effect sizes, so read the linked reviews for direction and magnitude of benefit. OSMF's existing evidence tier for this pair is A (Strong), derived from the strength of the disease association recorded in DGIdb, in this case via the biomarker or target ARID1A. The tier describes how well the drug-disease link is documented, not how well the drug works.
Cite this page
Data: ClinicalTrials.gov, PubMed, Open Targets, ChEMBL, DGIdb and the OSMF therapeutic agent database. Last updated 2026-07-05. Page built 2026-10-07.