Biomarkers currently play an important role in the detection and management of patients with several different types of gastrointestinal cancer, especially colorectal, gastric, gastro-oesophageal junction (GOJ) adenocarcinomas and gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs). The aim of this article is to provide updated and evidence-based guidelines for the use of biomarkers in the different gastrointestinal malignancies. Recommended biomarkers for colorectal cancer include an immunochemical-based fecal occult blood test in screening asymptomatic subjects ≥50 years of age for neoplasia, serial CEA levels in postoperative surveillance of stage II and III patients who may be candidates for surgical resection or systemic therapy in the event of distant metastasis occurring, K-RAS mutation status for identifying patients with advanced disease likely to benefit from anti-EGFR therapeutic antibodies and microsatellite instability testing as a first-line screen for subjects with Lynch syndrome. In advanced gastric or GOJ cancers, measurement of HER2 is recommended in selecting patients for treatment with trastuzumab. For patients with suspected GIST, determination of KIT protein should be used as a diagnostic aid, while KIT mutational analysis may be used for treatment planning in patients with diagnosed GISTs.
Worldwide, colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer, with the highest mortality rates occurring in Central Europe. The use of chemotherapy to treat CRC is limited by the inter-individual variability in drug response and the development of cancer cell resistance. ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters play a crucial role in the development of resistance by the efflux of anticancer agents outside of cancer cells. The aim of this study was to explore transcript levels of all human ABCs in tumours and non-neoplastic control tissues from CRC patients collected before the first line of treatment by 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-containing regimen. The prognostic potential of ABCs was evaluated by the correlation of transcript levels with clinical factors. Relations between transcript levels of ABCs in tumours and chemotherapy efficacy were also addressed. The transcript profile of all known human ABCs was assessed using real-time polymerase chain reaction with a relative standard curve. The majority of the studied ABCs were down-regulated or unchanged between tumours and control tissues. ABCA12, ABCA13, ABCB6, ABCC1, ABCC2 and ABCE1 were up-regulated in tumours versus control tissues. Transcript levels of ABCA12, ABCC7 and ABCC8 increased in direction from colon to rectum. Additionally, transcript levels of ABCB9, ABCB11, ABCG5 and ABCG8 followed the reverse significant trend, i.e. a decrease in direction from colon to rectum. The transcript level of ABCC10 in tumours correlated with the grade (P = 0.01). Transcript levels of ABCC6, ABCC11, ABCF1 and ABCF2 were significantly lower in non-responders to palliative chemotherapy in comparison with responders. The disease-free interval of patients treated by adjuvant chemotherapy was significantly shorter in patients with low transcript levels of ABCA7, ABCA13, ABCB4, ABCC11 and ABCD4. In conclusion, ABCC11 may be a promising candidate marker for a validation study on 5-FU therapy outcome.
Abstract. Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) represents the most malignant primary brain tumor in adults with generally dismal prognosis, early clinical deterioration and high mortality. GBM is extremely invasive, characterized by intense and aberrant vascularization and high resistance to multimodal treatment. Standard therapy (surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy with temozolomide) has very limited effectiveness, with median overall survival of patients no longer than 15 months. Progress in genetics and epigenetics of GBM over the past decade has revealed various aberrations in cellular signaling pathways, the tumor microenvironment, and pathological angiogenesis. A number of targeted anticancer drugs, such as small-molecule kinase inhibitors and monoclonal antibodies, have been evaluated in clinical trials with newly-diagnosed, as well as recurrent GBM. Unfortunately, to date, only a single antiangiogenic agent, bevacizumab, has been approved for the treatment of recurrent GBM in the USA and Canada. The novel possibilities of cancer immunotherapy, especially immune checkpoint inhibitors, are being evaluated in clinical trials of patients with GBM. The most recent clinical experiences with targeted therapy as well as immunotherapy of GBM are given in this review. The relative lack of success of some of these approaches recently revealed in well-designed randomized clinical trials is also discussed.Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) belongs to the largest group of primary central nervous system (CNS) tumors, so-called gliomas, which are formed from supporting glial cells in the brain parenchyma (1, 2). GBM represents the most common and most malignant tumor in this class, with an incidence of 3-4/100,000/year (3, 4). GBM is an extremely invasive and difficult to treat tumor, characterized by intense and aberrant vascularization and high resistance to radiotherapy (RT) and chemotherapy (CHT). The current standard of care for patients with newly-diagnosed GBM comprises of neurosurgery and subsequent concomitant chemoradiotherapy by fractionated external-beam RT and systemic temozolomide followed by systemic temozolomide in the adjuvant setting (5). There are only very limited possibilities for the treatment of subsequent recurrences, generally with minimal clinical efficacy (6). Despite intensive multimodal treatment strategies, the median survival of patients with GBM is still 12.1-14.6 months and only 3-5% of patients survive longer than 3 years (7).Enormous progress has been made in the genetics and epigenetics of GBM during the past decade. The Cancer 21Τhis article is freely accessible online.Correspondence to: Jiri Polivka, Department of Neurology, Faculty Hospital Plzen, alej Svobody 80, 304 60, Plzen, Czech Republic. E-mail: polivka@fnplzen.cz Key Words: Glioblastoma multiforme, GBM, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, immune checkpoint inhibitors, PD1 inhibition, CTLA4 inhibition, clinical trials, personalized medicine, review. ANTICANCER RESEARCH 37: 21-34 (2017) [8][9][10][11][12]. The most important genetic...
Several randomized controlled trials have shown that population-based screening using faecal occult blood testing (FOBT) can reduce mortality from colorectal neoplasia. Based on this evidence, a number of countries have introduced screening for colorectal cancer (CRC) and high-risk adenoma and many others are considering its introduction. The aim of this article is to critically review the current status of faecal markers as population-based screening tests for these neoplasia. Most of the available faecal tests involve the measurement of either occult blood or a panel of DNA markers. Occult blood may be measured using either the guaiac faecal occult blood test (gFOBT) or a faecal immunochemical test (iFOBT). Although iFOBT may require a greater initial investment, they have several advantages over gFOBT, including greater analytical sensitivity and specificity. Their use results in improved clinical performance and higher uptake rates. Importantly for population screening, some of the iFOBTs can be automated and provide an adjustable cutoff for faecal haemoglobin concentration. However, samples for iFOBT, may be less stable after collection than for gFOBT. For new centres undertaking FOBT for colorectal neoplasia, the European Group on Tumour Markers recommends use of a quantitative iFOBT with an adjustable cutoff point and high throughput analysis. All participants with positive FOBT results should be offered colonoscopy. The panel recommends further research into increasing the stability of iFOBT and the development of improved and affordable DNA and proteomic-based tests, which reduce current false negative rates, simplify sample transport and enable automated analysis.Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most prevalent cancer worldwide, with an estimated one million new cases and a half million deaths each year. 1,2 After lung cancer, CRC is the second most common cause of death from cancer for men and women combined.Although many screening tests are available for CRC and advanced adenoma, the most widely used is faecal occult blood testing (FOBT). The use of FOBT has been shown to reduce cancer mortality in four large randomized trials. [3][4][5][6][7] Several expert groups therefore now recommend that all average-risk men and women should undergo screening for CRC and advanced adenoma (Table 1). In light of these recommendations, population screening for these lesions has recently been initiated in several countries.This article critically reviews the current status of faecal markers in screening for CRC and high-risk adenoma (i.e., > 10 mm, 3 more adenomatous polyps of any size, significant villous component, or high grade dysplasia), and makes recommendations for their use in population-based screening. In preparing the article, the literature relevant to faecal screening tests for colorectal neoplasia was reviewed. Particular attention was given to systematic reviews, prospective randomised trials and guidelines published by expert panels.
Thymidine kinase 1 (TK 1-fetal) is a cell cycle-dependent marker that increases dramatically during the S-phase of the cell cycle. In this review, the authors discuss serum levels of thymidine kinase in a variety of neoplasias. Determination of thymidine kinase helps to monitor the follow-up of solid tumours and haematological malignancies as well as indicating the efficacy of adjuvant and palliative chemotherapy. Elevated levels of thymidine kinase must always be interpreted together with a detailed knowledge of the patient's condition because nonspecific elevations of serum levels (inflammatory and autoimmune diseases) must be excluded.
Purpose: DNA repair capacity (DRC) is a determinant not only of cancer development but also of individual response to therapy. Previously, altered base and nucleotide excision repair (BER and NER) have been described in lymphocytes of patients with sporadic colorectal cancer. We, for the first time, evaluate both excision repair capacities in human colon biopsies to study their participation in colorectal tumorigenesis.Experimental design: Seventy pairs of tumor and adjacent healthy tissues were analyzed for BER-and NER-specific DRC by a comet repair assay. Tissue pairs were further compared for expression levels of a panel of 25 BER and NER genes complemented by their promoter methylation status.
Lanreotide treatment was associated with improvements in symptoms as well as a range of PROs in patients with neuroendocrine tumours and carcinoid syndrome (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01234168).
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