Colorectal Cancer Biomarkers: Where Are We Now?

Colorectal cancer is one of the major causes of cancer-related death in the Western world. Patient survival is highly dependent on the tumor stage at the time of diagnosis. Reduced sensitivity to chemotherapy is still a major obstacle in effective treatment of advanced disease. Due to the fact that...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:BioMed research international 2015-01, Vol.2015 (2015), p.1-14
Main Authors: Gonzalez-Pons, Maria, Cruz-Correa, Marcia
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological markers
Biomarkers
Biomarkers, Tumor - genetics
Cell cycle
Colleges & universities
Colonoscopy
Colorectal cancer
Colorectal Neoplasms - diagnosis
Colorectal Neoplasms - genetics
Colorectal Neoplasms - pathology
Deoxyribonucleic acid
DNA
DNA methylation
FDA approval
Feces
Gene expression
Genomics
Health aspects
Humans
Medical prognosis
Medical research
Medical screening
Methods
MicroRNAs - genetics
Mortality
Mutation
Pathology, Molecular
Patients
Physiological aspects
Review
Surveillance
Tumors
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Summary:Colorectal cancer is one of the major causes of cancer-related death in the Western world. Patient survival is highly dependent on the tumor stage at the time of diagnosis. Reduced sensitivity to chemotherapy is still a major obstacle in effective treatment of advanced disease. Due to the fact that colorectal cancer is mostly asymptomatic until it progresses to advanced stages, the implementation of screening programs aimed at early detection is essential to reduce incidence and mortality rates. Current screening and diagnostic methods range from semi-invasive procedures such as colonoscopy to noninvasive stool-based tests. The combination of the absence of symptoms, the semi-invasive nature of currently used methods, and the suboptimal accuracy of fecal blood tests results in colorectal cancer diagnosis at advanced stages in a significant number of individuals. Alterations in gene expression leading to colorectal carcinogenesis are reflected in dysregulated levels of nucleic acids and proteins, which can be used for the development of novel, minimally invasive molecular biomarkers. The purpose of this review is to discuss the commercially available colorectal cancer molecular diagnostic methods as well as to highlight some of the new candidate predictive and prognostic molecular markers for tumor, stool, and blood samples.
ISSN:2314-6133
2314-6141
DOI:10.1155/2015/149014