Colorectal cancer

Abstract

Every year, more than 945000 people develop colorectal cancer worldwide, and around 492000 patients die. This form of cancer develops sporadically, in the setting of hereditary cancer syndromes, or on the basis of inflammatory bowel diseases. Screening and prevention programmes are available for all these causes and should be more widely publicised. The adenoma-carcinoma sequence is the basis for development of colorectal cancer, and the underlying molecular changes have largely been identified. Prognosis depends on factors related to the patient, treatment, and tumour, and the expertise of the treatment team is one of the major determinants of outcome. New information on the molecular basis of this cancer have led to the development of targeted therapeutic options, which are being tested in clinical trials. Further clinical progress will largely depend on the broader implementation of multidisciplinary treatment strategies following the principles of evidence-based medicine.

Attenuation of the beta-catenin/TCF4 complex in colorectal cancer cells induces several growth-suppressive microRNAs that target cancer promoting genes

“…Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a very common malignancy and responsible for a large fraction of cancer deaths (Weitz et al, 2005). Most CRCs are caused by aberrant Wnt signaling that fuel excessive cell growth through increased activity of growth-stimulating genes while keeping negative growth regulators (for example, FOXO3A, DAPK2, HATH1 and CDKN1A/p21) in check through direct and indirect mechanisms (van de Wetering et al, 2002;Tsuchiya et al, 2007;Dehner et al, 2008;Li et al, 2009).…”

Thiazolide-induced apoptosis in colorectal cancer cells is mediated via the Jun kinase–Bim axis and reveals glutathione-S-transferase P1 as Achilles’ heel

“…Despite extensive research, treatment of advanced colorectal cancer with antitumor agents is often limited by intolerable side effects or by the development of chemoresistance (Meyerhardt and Mayer, 2005;Weitz et al, 2005). Therefore, major scientific efforts have been invested to identify tumor-specific drug targets, that is, molecules that are selectively expressed in cancerous tissues.…”

The role of CXCR3 and CXCR4 in colorectal cancer metastasis

“…Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third commonest cancer in the world and the fourth of cancer-related deaths, 1 with the majority attributable to distant metastases. The 5-year survival rate for patients with local CRC is $80-90%, whereas that of those with distant metastasis is only 10-20%.…”