The DNA damage response pathway as a land of therapeutic opportunities for colorectal cancer

•In CRC, the therapeutic application of DDR alterations has to be elucidated.•Results from clinical trials exploiting DDR alterations as a target are disappointing and hampered by several limitations.•A subset of CRC is vulnerable to PARP inhibition as suggested by recent preclinical evidence.•Currently, there is no consensus on methods to assess the functional role of DDR alterations in CRC.•A better understanding of DDR alterations based on...