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World J Gastroenterol. Apr 21, 2014; 20(15): 4230-4243
Published online Apr 21, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i15.4230
Published online Apr 21, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i15.4230
Molecular and prognostic heterogeneity of microsatellite-unstable colorectal cancer
Jung Ho Kim, Department of Pathology, SMG-SNU Boramae Medical Center, Seoul 156-707, South Korea
Gyeong Hoon Kang, Department of Pathology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 110-799, South Korea
Gyeong Hoon Kang, Laboratory of Epigenetics, Cancer Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 110-799, South Korea
Author contributions: Kim JH performed the literature review and drafted the article; Kang GH revised and edited the article; all of the authors have read and approved the final version of the article.
Supported by The National R&D Program for Cancer Control funded by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, South Korea, No. 0720540; the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIP), No. 2011-0030768; Priority Research Centers Program through the NRF grant funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST), South Korea, No. 2009-0093820; and the Mid-career Researcher Program through the NRF grant funded by MEST, No. 2011-0015646
Correspondence to: Gyeong Hoon Kang, MD, PhD, Professor, Department of Pathology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, 103 Daehak-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-799, South Korea. ghkang@snu.ac.kr
Telephone: +82-2-7408263 Fax: +82-2-7655600
Received: September 25, 2013
Revised: January 30, 2014
Accepted: February 20, 2014
Published online: April 21, 2014
Revised: January 30, 2014
Accepted: February 20, 2014
Published online: April 21, 2014
Core Tip
Core tip: A high level of microsatellite instability (MSI-H) is a known molecular indicator of a favorable prognosis and low benefit of 5-fluorouracil-based adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). However, MSI-H CRCs are molecularly heterogeneous tumors, which are characterized by DNA mismatch repair deficiency and various genetic and epigenetic alterations. Therefore, we hypothesized that MSI-H CRCs can be divided into prognostic subgroups based on the molecular heterogeneity. This article provides an up-to-date review concerning the underlying molecular features of MSI-H CRCs and potential prognostic or predictive molecular markers for MSI-H CRCs.