The development of novel biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis of colorectal cancer

Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most commonly detected cancer and the fourth cause of mortality globally. It is anticipated to rise by 60% of the 2.2 million new cases and 1.1 million deaths by 2030.The cancer originates in the digestive tract's lower end i.e. the colon and rectum which begin as a non-cancerous polyp and turns out to be a tumor (sarcoma) in the later stages. It is generally resulted as a consequence of lifestyle and environmental factors which includes obesity and physical inactivity. The major aspects responsible are dysfunction of signaling mechanisms, alternation in methylation of various pathways leading to characteristic symptoms such as rectal bleeding, abdominal discomfort, etc. The intent of this study is to investigate the biomarkers used for diagnosis of colorectal cancer. There are many methods to diagnose the disease, one of such diagnostic measures are biomarkers. They are sequences of DNA which are associated with the predisposition of a disease for instance exosomes, long non-coding RNA, methylated vimentin, etc. are some of the novel biomarkers used in the detection of colorectal cancer. The exosomes are double membranous vesicles structurally sound in lipids are present in body fluids like blood, saliva and urine plays a major role in initiation and progression of the tumor. MicroRNAs are endogenous noncoding sequences that obstruct the expression of target genes. The carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is a highly suggested prognostic marker because the level of CEA increases with the increase in CRC. Recently, it has been discovered that the fusion of exosomes and CEA enhances the accuracy of diagnosis.