PREDICTIVE BIOMARKERS IN COLORECTAL CANCER. LITERATURE REVIEW

Abstract

Objective. Colorectal cancer is the type of cancer with the highest incidence rate at present. Despite the fact that colorectal cancer is histologically homogeneous, each tumor has a unique molecular profile, which is characterized by different genetic and epigenetic changes. The early detection of the disease by understanding the genetic changes that occurs in this tumor represents the main purpose nowadays. The role of biomarkers is essential for individual management and monitoring treatment results of patients with colorectal cancer, which can lead to a better prognosis and a lower mortality.

Materials and methods. The bibliographic sources from the PubMed, Medline, Google Scholar, Cochrane online databases were studied. The search was performed using the following keywords: „biomarkers”, „colorectal cancer”, „screening”, „genomic markers”, „microbian fecal markers” for assessing the role of predictive biomarkers of colorectal cancer. Information and the collected data was analyzed and compared.

Results. Thus, several molecular genomic biomarkers have been identified, which are currently used for the diagnosis, prognosis and establishment of colorectal cancer treatment. The informativeness of many genes that are characterized by high frequency of mutations has been demonstrated (KRAS, NRAS, BRAF, PIK3CA, APC, TP53, SMAD2, SOX9), changes in DNA methylation (MLH1), affected expression at the level of mRNA or proteins and translocations (NAV2/TCF7L1), which contributes to the early confirmation of colorectal cancer and the early initiation of treatment for these neoplasms.

Conclusion. This review highlights the effectiveness of biomarkers and the importance of individual approaches in the curative management of patients with this type of neoplasia, with a direct impact on morbidity and mortality.