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Copyright ©The Author(s) 2016. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Feb 7, 2016; 22(5): 1745-1755
Published online Feb 7, 2016. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v22.i5.1745
Colorectal cancer tumour markers and biomarkers: Recent therapeutic advances
Gustaw Lech, Robert Słotwiński, Maciej Słodkowski, Ireneusz Wojciech Krasnodębski
Gustaw Lech, Maciej Słodkowski, Ireneusz Wojciech Krasnodębski, Department of General, Gastroenterological and Oncological Surgery, Medical University of Warsaw, 02097 Warsaw, Poland
Robert Słotwiński, Department of Surgical Research and Transplantology, Mossakowski Medical Research Centre, Polish Academy of Sciences, 02106 Warsaw, Poland
Robert Słotwiński, Department of Immunology, Biochemistry and Nutrition, Medical University of Warsaw, 02007 Warsaw, Poland
Author contributions: Lech G wrote the manuscript; Słotwiński R, Słodkowski M and Krasnodębski IW reviewed the entire manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Gustaw Lech, MD, PhD, Department of General, Gastroenterological and Oncological Surgery, Medical University of Warsaw, 1a Banacha Street, 02097 Warsaw, Poland. gustaw.lech@wum.edu.pl
Telephone: +48-22-5992482 Fax: +48-22-5992057
Received: May 3, 2015
Peer-review started: May 8, 2015
First decision: September 9, 2015
Revised: October 5, 2015
Accepted: December 21, 2015
Article in press: December 21, 2015
Published online: February 7, 2016
Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer among females and third among males worldwide. It also contributes significantly to cancer-related deaths, despite the continuous progress in diagnostic and therapeutic methods. Biomarkers currently play an important role in the detection and treatment of patients with colorectal cancer. Risk stratification for screening might be augmented by finding new biomarkers which alone or as a complement of existing tests might recognize either the predisposition or early stage of the disease. Biomarkers have also the potential to change diagnostic and treatment algorithms by selecting the proper chemotherapeutic drugs across a broad spectrum of patients. There are attempts to personalise chemotherapy based on presence or absence of specific biomarkers. In this review, we update review published last year and describe our understanding of tumour markers and biomarkers role in CRC screening, diagnosis, treatment and follow-up. Goal of future research is to identify those biomarkers that could allow a non-invasive and cost-effective diagnosis, as well as to recognise the best prognostic panel and define the predictive biomarkers for available treatments.

Keywords: Colorectal cancer, Biomarker, Microsatellite instability, KRAS mutation, BRAF mutation, PIK3CA mutation, Chromosome 18q loss of heterozygosity, Anti-epidermal growth factor receptor therapy, Colorectal cancer biomarkers, Carcinoembryonic antigen

Core tip: This review summarizes data concerning clinical utility of biomarkers in colorectal cancer patients. Authors focus primarily on currently available diagnostic, prognostic and predictive biomarkers of the disease. Great attention is also paid to the advances achieved in personalized therapy of colorectal cancer.