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Copyright ©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Oncol. Oct 15, 2021; 13(10): 1288-1301
Published online Oct 15, 2021. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v13.i10.1288
Molecular testing for colorectal cancer: Clinical applications
Evgeny Imyanitov, Ekaterina Kuligina
Evgeny Imyanitov, Ekaterina Kuligina, Department of Tumor Biology, N.N. Petrov Institute of Oncology, St.-Petersburg 197758, Russia
Evgeny Imyanitov, Department of Medical Genetics, St.-Petersburg Pediatric Medical University, Saint-Petersburg 194100, Russia
Evgeny Imyanitov, Department of Oncology, I.I. Mechnikov North-Western Medical University, Saint-Petersburg 191015, Russia
Author contributions: Imyanitov E wrote the article draft; Kuligina E prepared the illustration; Both authors reviewed the literature data, edited and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Supported by Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, No. 075-15-2020-789.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interests for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (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/
Corresponding author: Evgeny Imyanitov, DSc, Professor, Department of Tumor Biology, N.N. Petrov Institute of Oncology, Pesochny, St.-Petersburg 197758, Russia. evgeny@imyanitov.spb.ru
Received: February 21, 2021
Peer-review started: February 21, 2021
First decision: June 16, 2021
Revised: June 19, 2021
Accepted: August 24, 2021
Article in press: August 24, 2021
Published online: October 15, 2021
Core Tip

Core Tip: Molecular genetic analysis is an integral component of colorectal cancer (CRC) management. Comprehensive KRAS and NRAS testing is mandatory for selection of patients for anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) therapy. BRAF V600E mutated cancers are responsive to combination of BRAF and EGFR inhibitors. CRCs with HER2 amplification and overexpression can be controlled by the down-regulation of this receptor. Immune therapy is highly effective in CRCs with exceptionally high tumor mutation burden, e.g., in cancers with microsatellite instability, MUTYH gene inactivation or mutations in the POLE gene. CRC patients with early disease onset, specific tumor features or family history of the disease require germ-line DNA testing.