Colorectal Cancer Screening

Comparison between Clinical Utility of CXCL-8 and Clinical Practice Tumor Markers for Colorectal Cancer Diagnosis

Owing to the high incidence and mortality rates of colorectal cancer (CRC), novel biomarkers for CRC diagnosis are critically needed. Therefore, this study is aimed at exploring the clinical utility of serum C-X-C motif chemokine 8 (CXCL-8) for CRC diagnosis and progression compared to the routinely used biomarkers, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), and carbohydrate antigen-19-9 (CA19-9). This study included 227 patients with CRC, 110 patients with colorectal adenoma (CA), and 123 healthy participants, who were recruited from the Fujian Medical University Union Hospital from July 1, 2019 to October 31, 2020. Serum concentrations of CXCL-8, CEA, and CA19-9 were detected using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay. Clinicopathological features of patients with CRC were collected and analyzed. The diagnostic efficacy of CXCL-8, CEA, and CA19-9 for CRC was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. We found that the serum concentrations of CXCL-8, CEA, and CA19-9 were significantly higher in patients with CRC than those in patients with CA and healthy controls. The diagnostic sensitivity of CXCL-8 alone was higher than those of CEA and CA19-9 both and when combined; thus, CXCL-8 may be better at discriminating patients with CRC from healthy controls and patients with CA. Moreover, combining CXCL-8 with CEA or CA19-9 improved their respective diagnostic performances in distinguishing patients with CRC from CA patients and healthy participants. Notably, we also found that serum concentrations of CXCL-8 were positively correlated with metastases and tumor size. Therefore, our study suggests that serum CXCL-8 may serve as an improved biomarker for CRC diagnosis compared to the traditional tumor markers CEA and CA19-9. Moreover, our findings indicate the potential efficacy of serum CXCL-8 levels as a CRC prognostic biomarker.

Pretreatment Albumin-to-Fibrinogen Ratio is a Promising Biomarker for Predicting Postoperative Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Colorectal Cancer

PURPOSE

To evaluate the prognostic value of pretreatment albumin-to-fibrinogen ratio (AFR) in colorectal cancer (CRC).

METHODS

This retrospective study included 657 CRC patients who underwent surgical resection in 2012-2014. Kaplan-Meier survival curve and Cox proportional hazards model were used to determine independent predictors. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used to assess and compare the ability of indicators to predict survival.

RESULTS

The optimal cutoff value of AFR was 8.3. Compared with high AFR group, low AFR group had shorter progression-free survival (PFS) (65.32% vs 52.28%, p < 0.001) and overall survival (OS) (67.47% vs 56.14%, p = 0.001). In the stratified analysis of TNM stage, AFR had good prognostic discrimination for early- and advanced-stage patients. Multivariate analysis suggested that AFR was an independent prognostic factor of PFS [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.385, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.043-1.839, p = 0.024) and OS (HR = 1.342, 95% CI = 1.022-1.763, p = 0.034) for CRC patients. AFR had better prognostic prediction ability than other inflammation-related markers. The AFR-based nomograms had good predictive capabilities.

CONCLUSIONS

Pretreatment AFR is an independent prognostic factor for CRC patients undergoing surgical resection and is superior to other established inflammation-related markers.

Diagnosis and prognostic value of C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 1 in colon adenocarcinoma based on The Cancer Genome Atlas and Guangxi cohort

Objective: The objective was to identify and validate C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 1(CXCL1) for diagnosis and prognosis in colon adenocarcinoma (COAD).

Methods: Our current study had enrolled one The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) cohort and two Guangxi cohorts to identify and verify the diagnostic and prognostic values of CXCL1 in COAD. Functional enrichment was performed by gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA).

Results: In TCGA cohort, the expression of CXCL1 was significantly up-regulated in tumor tissues and decreased as the tumor stage developed. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve showed that CXCL1 had a high diagnostic value for COAD. The result of Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that CXCL1 gene expression (P=0.045) was significantly correlated with overall survival (OS) of COAD. Results of Guangxi cohort also verified the diagnostic value of CXCL1 in COAD, and sub-group survival analyses also suggested that patients with high CXCL1 expression were related to a favorable OS (Corrected P=0.005). GSEA revealed that CXCL1 high expression phenotype was related to cytokine activity, cell apoptosis, P53 regulation pathway, and regulation of autophagy in COAD.

Conclusions: In this study, we found that CXCL1 gene might be a potential diagnostic biomarker for COAD, and might serve as a prognostic biomarker for specific subgroup of COAD.

Predictive Potential of PD-L1, TYMS, and DCC Expressions in Treatment Outcome of Colorectal Carcinoma

Colorectal carcinoma (CRC) is a malignancy of epithelial origin in the large bowel. The elucidation of the biological functions of programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1), thymidylate synthase (TYMS), and deleted in colorectal cancer (DCC) biomarkers including their roles in the pathophysiology of CRC - has led to their applications in diagnostic and chemo-pharmaceutics. We investigated whether PD-L1, TYMS, and DCC protein expression in CRC tumors are predictive biomarkers of treatment outcome for CRC patients. The expressions of PD-L1, TYMS, and DCC were evaluated by immunohistochemistry (IHC) in 91 paraffin-embedded samples from patients who underwent colectomy procedure in Hospital Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia. There was high expression of DCC in most cases: 84.6% (77/91). PD-L1 showed low expression in 93.4% (86/91) of cases and high expression in 6.6% (5/91) of cases. Low and high expressions of TYMS were detected in 53.8% (49/91) and 46.2% (42/91) of the CRC cases, respectively. There was a significant association between the TYMS expression and gender (P < 0.05); the expression of TYMS was observed at a high level in 76.2% of males and in 23.8% of females. The mean overall survival (OS) was 100 months for the CRC patients evaluated. The OS for patients with high expression of PD-L1 was 22 months. Patients with high expression of TYMS and DCC showed OS of 90 and 96 months, respectively. The results from this study suggest that PD-L1, TYMS, and DCC expression could be used as biomarkers to stratify CRC patients who could benefit from adjuvant therapy.

Estimating the preferences and willingness-to-pay for colorectal cancer screening: an opportunity to incorporate the perspective of population at risk into policy development in Thailand

AIMS

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the public health burdens that can be lowered by early detection. This study aims to examine the preferences and willingness-to-pay of a population at risk for CRC screening in Thailand. Understanding the preferences for these individuals at risk would help Thailand, as an example of LMICs, to design effective population-based CRC screening programs.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A discrete choice experiment (DCE) was conducted among screening-naïve adults aged 50-75 years, who were at risk of CRC, in the out-patient department of a tertiary care hospital in Thailand. A DCE questionnaire was developed from six CRC screening attributes. Each questionnaire was composed of six choice sets and each contained two alternatives described by the different levels of attributes and an opt-out alternative. Participants were asked to choose one alternative from each choice set. A multinomial logit model was developed to determine the relative preference of each attribute. The willingness-to-pays for all attributes and screening modalities and the estimated preferred choices of the annual fecal immunochemical test (FIT), 10-yearly colonoscopy, 5-yearly double-contrast barium enema (DCBE), 5-yearly computed tomographic colonography (CTC), 5-yearly flexible sigmoidoscopy (FS), and no screening was calculated and compared.

RESULTS

Four hundred participants were included. All attributes, except pain and less bowel preparation, were statistically associated with the participants' preference (p < .05). They preferred screenings with a high-risk reduction of CRC-related mortality, no complication, 5-year interval, and lower cost. The estimated preferred choices of FIT, colonoscopy, DCBE, CTC, and FS were 38.2%, 11.4%, 14.6%, 9.2%, and 11.4%, respectively. The willingness-to-pays for each screening modality was US$251, US$189, US$183, US$154, and US$142 (8,107, 6,105, 5,911, 4,974, and 4,587 THB) per episode, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

The risk reduction of CRC-related mortality, complication, screening interval, and cost influenced the CRC screening preferences of Thai adults. FIT was the most preferred. Policymakers can develop a successful CRC screening campaign using these findings, incorporating the perspective of the population at risk in policy formulation to accomplish their goals.

Chemokines-What Is Their Role in Colorectal Cancer?

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death. It is the second most frequently diagnosed malignancy in Europe and third worldwide. Colorectal malignancies diagnosed at an early stage offer a promising survival rate. However, advanced tumors often present distant metastases even after the complete resection of a primary tumor. Therefore, novel biomarkers of CRC are sorely needed in the diagnosis and prognosis of this common malignancy. A family of chemokines are composed of small, secreted proteins. They are best known for their ability to stimulate the migration of several cell types. Some investigations have indicated that chemokines are involved in cancer development, including CRC. This article presents current knowledge regarding chemokines and their specific receptors in CRC progression. Moreover, the prime aim of this review is to summarize the potential role of these proteins as biomarkers in the diagnosis and prognosis of CRC.

CREB1-induced lncRNA LEF1-AS1 contributes to colorectal cancer progression via the miR-489/DIAPH1 axis

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been identified as new regulatory factors in tumor progression. Lymphoid enhancer-binding factor 1 antisense RNA 1 (LEF1-AS1) was a recently identified lncRNA. This research aimed to investigate the roles and mechanisms of LEF1-AS1 in colorectal cancer (CRC). We firstly showed that LEF1-AS1 expression was upregulated in human CRC tissues and cell lines. LEF1-AS1 upregulation was demonstrated to be induced by CREB1. Clinical study revealed that high LEF1-AS1 expression was positively associated with histological grade, lymph nodes metastasis, and decreased survivals of CRC patients. Functionally, down-regulation of LEF1-AS1 using si-LEF1-AS1 decreased cell growth, migration and invasion, as well as increased apoptosis in CRC cells. Mechanically, LEF1-AS1 functioned as competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) for miR-489 to positively recover DIAPH1, thus playing an oncogenic role in CRC pathogenesis. Overall, our observations identified a novel CRC-related lncRNA LEF1-AS1 and discovered a critical role for this lncRNA as a ceRNA in CRC pathogenesis, suggesting that it may serve as a novel biomarker for prognosis and act as a therapeutic target for CRC treatment.

CXCL-8 in Preoperative Colorectal Cancer Patients: Significance for Diagnosis and Cancer Progression

Introduction. Since colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most commonly diagnosed malignancy in Europe and third worldwide, novel biomarkers for diagnosing the disease are critically needed. Objectives. According to our knowledge, the present study is the first to evaluate the clinical usefulness of serum CXCL-8 (C-X-C motif chemokine 8) in the diagnosis and progression of CRC compared to classical tumor marker CEA (carcinoembryonic antigen) and marker of inflammation CRP (C-reactive protein). Patients and Methods. The study included 59 CRC patients and 46 healthy volunteers. Serum levels of selected proteins were measured using ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay), CMIA (chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay), and immunoturbidimetric methods. Results. Serum concentrations of CXCL-8, similarly to those of the classical tumor marker CEA and inflammatory state marker CRP, were significantly higher in CRC patients than in healthy controls. There were statistically significant differences in CXCL-8 concentrations between tumor stages, as established by the Kruskal–Wallis test and confirmed by the post hoc Dwass–Steele–Critchlow–Fligner test. CXCL-8 levels were also significantly elevated in CRC patients with distant metastases compared to patients in the subgroup without metastases. Diagnostic sensitivity, predictive values for negative results (NPV), and AUC (area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve—ROC curve) of CXCL-8 were higher than those of CEA, while diagnostic specificity and predictive values for positive results (PPV) of CXCL-8 were higher than those of CRP. Conclusions. Our findings indicate greater utility of CXCL-8 in comparison to the classical tumor marker CEA in the diagnosis of CRC. Moreover, serum CXCL-8 might be a potential biomarker of colorectal cancer progression.

Colorectal cancer screening behaviors of general surgeons and first-degree family members: a survey-based study

Background

Colorectal cancer (CRC) screening rates are low in the general population and among health care providers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the CRC screening practices of general surgeons who provide specialized diagnostic testing and CRC treatment and to examine the CRC screening behaviors of their first-degree family members.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey was conducted among general surgeons who attended the 21st National Surgical Congress in Turkey held from April 11th to 15th, 2018. The survey included items on demographics, screening-related attitude, CRC screening options, barriers to CRC screening, and surgeons’ annual volumes of CRC cases.

Results

A total of 530 respondents completed the survey. Almost one-third of the responding surgeons (29.4%, n = 156) were aged over 50 years, among whom approximately half (47.1%, n = 74) reported having undergone CRC screening and preferring a colonoscopy as the screening modality (78.4%). Among general surgeons aged 50 years and older, high-volume surgeons (≥25 CRC cases per year) were more likely to undergo screening compared with low-volume surgeons (< 25 CRC cases per year). The respondents aged below 50 years reported that 56.1% (n = 210) of their first-degree relatives were up-to-date with CRC screening, mostly with colonoscopy. Compared to low-volume surgeons aged below 50 years, high-volume surgeons’ first-degree relatives were more likely to be up-to-date with CRC screening.

Conclusion

The survey results demonstrated that routine screening for CRC among surgeons and/or their first-degree relatives is currently not performed at the desired level. However, high-volume surgeons are more likely to participate in routine screening.

Diagnostic and prognostic values of C‑X‑C motif chemokine ligand 3 in patients with colon cancer

The diagnostic and prognostic mechanisms of C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 3 (CXCL3) in colon cancer (CC) have not yet been reported. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to use cohorts of patients from Guangxi Medical University and the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database to investigate and validate CXCL3 for the diagnosis and prognosis of CC, and to explore its prospective molecular mechanism. Reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) analysis of 38 paired tumor and non-tumor tissues, and immunohistochemistry (IHC) of 212 tumor and 46 non-tumor tissues was conducted to explore the expression of CXCL3 and its diagnostic and prognostic significance in the Guangxi Medical University CC cohort. A GEO dataset, GSE40967, was used to validate the prognostic significance of CXCL3. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was also conducted to explore the potential molecular mechanisms underlying the effects of CXCL3 in CC. The RT-qPCR results indicated that CXCL3 expression was significantly higher in cancer tissues compared with adjacent normal tissues, suggesting that it may have high diagnostic value for CC. Multivariate Cox analysis based on the IHC results suggested that there was no appreciable association between CXCL3 positivity and the overall survival (OS) time of CC. However, a stratified analysis revealed that high expression of CXCL3 was associated with considerably increased mortality in the subgroup of CC patients with tumor size <5 cm (adjusted P=0.042, adjusted HR=2.298, 95% CI=1.030–5.126) and with tumor thrombus (adjusted P=0.019, adjusted HR=5.096, 95% CI=1.306–19.886). In the GSE40967 dataset, high expression of CXCL3 was closely associated with poor OS in CC (adjusted P=0.049, adjusted HR=1.416, 95% CI=1.002–2.003). Furthermore, GSEA indicated that the high expression of CXCL3 was closely associated with DNA repair, cell cycle process, cell apoptosis process and the P53 regulation pathway. In summary, these result suggest that CXCL3 might serve as a novel biomarker in the diagnosis and prognosis of CC.

Filamin A interacting protein 1-like expression inhibits progression in colorectal cancer

Filamin A interacting protein 1-like (FILIP1L) expression, which is decreased in various cancers, may inhibit carcinogenesis. In this study, we evaluated the effects of FILIP1L on oncogenic behavior and prognosis in colorectal cancer. siRNA-mediated FILIP1L knockdown enhanced tumor cell migration and invasion and inhibited apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in COLO205 cells. pcDNA-myc vector-mediated FILIP1L overexpression suppressed tumor cell migration and invasion and induced apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in HCT116 cells. FILIP1L knockdown enhanced angiogenesis by increasing VEGF-A and HIF-1α levels and decreasing angiostatin level. FILIP1L overexpression suppressed angiogenesis by decreasing VEGF-A and -D l level and increasing angiostatin and endostatin levels. Phosphorylated β-catenin levels decreased and phosphorylated Akt and GSK-3β levels increased following FILIP1L knockdown. FILIP1L overexpression had the opposite effects. FILIP1L expression was associated with reductions in tumor size, cell differentiation, lymphovascular invasion, stage, invasion depth and lymph node metastasis, and with longer overall survival. Mean Ki-67 labeling indexes and microvessel density values were lower in FILIP1L-positive tumors than in FILIP1L-negative tumors. These results indicate that FILIP1L suppresses tumor progression by inhibiting cell proliferation and angiogenesis in colorectal cancer.

Monitoring colorectal cancer following surgery using plasma circulating tumor DNA

Postoperative monitoring for patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) requires sensitive biomarkers that are associated with medical response and adjuvant therapy following surgery. Conventional tumor biomarkers [including carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), CA19-9 and CA125] are widely used, but none of the markers provide high sensitivity or specificity. Previous studies indicated that circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) is useful for postoperative monitoring of patients with cancer. However, the majority of previous studies involved patients with lung cancer, and therefore further studies are required which investigate patients with CRC. The present study enrolled 11 patients with CRC. All patients underwent surgery, and a number of patients were treated with postoperative chemotherapy. Tumor tissues and serial blood samples were collected from each patient, and somatic mutations of each sample were obtained using next-generation sequencing. The mutation landscape and dynamic changes in mutations for each patient were analyzed, and these results were compared with the changes of CEA levels. A number of driver genes were selected, including tumor protein P53 (TP53), APC and KRAS, to monitor the postoperative outcome of the 11 patients with CRC. Driver mutations were detected in preoperative plasma in 7 patients, with markedly decreased mutation rates detected in postoperative plasma compared with preoperative plasma. Driver mutations were not detected in 4 patients in the preoperative or postoperative plasma. In 1 patient with metastatic rectal cancer, the rate of TP53 mutation increased from 8.95 (preoperative) to 71.4% (postoperative), and a new phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase catalytic subunit α mutation emerged. This patient succumbed to mortality six months following surgery, however there were no marked changes in CEA levels during periodic detection of CEA levels. In summary, ctDNA has a high sensitivity and specificity in prediction of the prognosis of patients with CRC.

Identification of a specific peptide binding to colon cancer cells from a phage-displayed peptide library

BACKGROUND

New molecular probes are essential for early colon cancer diagnosis. A phage-display screening was performed to select novel binding peptides for early colon cancer imaging detection.

METHODS

A human colon cancer cell line (COLO320HSR) and a normal human intestinal epithelial cell line (NCM460) were used for subtractive screening with a phage peptide library. The positive peptides were identified, and their binding capacities were confirmed by confocal immunofluorescence both in human colon cancer cells and in biopsy specimens. The sequences were further analysed for homology and the existing mimotopes by the BLAST algorithm and the MimoDB database.

RESULTS

A peptide termed as CBP-DWS, which was demonstrated to be capable of binding to a panel of human colon cancer cell lines and tissues, was identified; it had virtually no binding to normal human intestinal epithelial cell line NCM460 and normal surrounding colon tissues. Bioinformatics analyses suggest that CBP-DWS targets human Glypican-3, which may be involved in important cellular functions in multiple cancer types.

CONCLUSIONS

These studies suggest that the selected peptide CBP-DWS may be a candidate to serve as a novel probe for colon cancer imaging.

Salidroside could enhance the cytotoxic effect of L‑OHP on colorectal cancer cells

Evidence has suggested that salidroside inhibits the proliferation and invasion of renal clear cell, lung, breast, and colon cancer. However, effect of salidroside on colorectal cancer (CRC) cells against oxaliplatin (L-OHP) resistance remains unclear. In the present study, the CRC HT-29 cell line and L-OHP resistance HT-29/L-OHP cell line were used to evaluate the effect, and mechanism of salidroside on L-OHP resistance. The results demonstrated that the activity of HT-29 cells was lower compared with that of HT-29/L-OHP cells following L-OHP intervention, and was accompanied with varied expression levels of drug resistant proteins. The combination of salidroside and L-OHP weakened cell activity significantly compared single utilization. Compared with the control group, salidroside intervention resulted in a higher percentage of HT-29/L-OHP cells in the G₀/G₁ stage, and reduced percentage in the G₂/M stage, but no significant variation in the S stage. The HT-29/L-OHP cells exhibited increased apoptosis rates and caspase-3 activity, but decreased metastatic, and invasive abilities following salidroside intervention. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blot analysis detected variations in the expression levels of associated genes in HT-29/L-OHP cells following salidroside intervention. In all, the results of the present study revealed that salidroside is able to decrease the activity and invasive capacity of HT-29/L-OHP cells, and treatment with salidroside is associated with increased apoptosis of cancer cells through the regulation of certain genes.

An Ethanolic Extract of Ampelopsis Radix Exerts Anti-colorectal Cancer Effects and Potently Inhibits STAT3 Signaling In Vitro

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a leading cause of cancer-related morbidity and mortality worldwide. Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) signaling is constantly activated in CRC, and has been proposed as a pathogenic factor and a therapeutic target of CRC. Ampelopsis Radix (AR), a traditional Chinese medicinal herb, possesses low toxicity and has long been used clinically for the treatment of cancers including CRC. Some constituents of AR have been reported to exert anti-cancer properties by targeting STAT3. However, the anti-CRC mode and mechanism of action of AR have not been fully elucidated. Here, we investigated the involvement of STAT3 signaling in the anti-CRC effects of AR. Results showed that AR reduced cell viability, induced cell apoptosis, and suppressed cell migration and invasion in human HCT-116 and SW480 CRC cells. Mechanistic studies showed that AR potently suppressed STAT3 and Src phosphorylation, and inhibited STAT3 nuclear localization in cultured CRC cells. AR also downregulated the expression of STAT3 target genes Mcl-1, Bcl-xL, and MMP-2 that are involved in cell survival and mobility. Moreover, the cytotoxic effect of AR was diminished by overexpressing STAT3C, a persistent active variant of STAT3. In conclusion, AR exerted anti-CRC effects in vitro and these effects are at least in part attributed to the inhibition of STAT3 signaling. Our findings provide a molecular justification for the traditional use of AR in treating CRC, and a pharmacological basis for developing AR-derived modern anti-CRC agent(s).

Comprehensive investigation of a novel differentially expressed lncRNA expression profile signature to assess the survival of patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma

Growing evidence has shown that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) can serve as prospective markers for survival in patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma. However, most studies have explored a limited number of lncRNAs in a small number of cases. The objective of this study is to identify a panel of lncRNA signature that could evaluate the prognosis in colorectal adenocarcinoma based on the data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Altogether, 371 colon adenocarcinoma (COAD) patients with complete clinical data were included in our study as the test cohort. A total of 578 differentially expressed lncRNAs (DELs) were observed, among which 20 lncRNAs closely related to overall survival (OS) in COAD patients were identified using a Cox proportional regression model. A risk score formula was developed to assess the prognostic value of the lncRNA signature in COAD with four lncRNAs (LINC01555, RP11-610P16.1, RP11-108K3.1 and LINC01207), which were identified to possess the most remarkable correlation with OS in COAD patients. COAD patients with a high-risk score had poorer OS than those with a low-risk score. The multivariate Cox regression analyses confirmed that the four-lncRNA signature could function as an independent prognostic indicator for COAD patients, which was largely mirrored in the validating cohort with rectal adenocarcinoma (READ) containing 158 cases. In addition, the correlative genes of LINC01555 and LINC01207 were enriched in the cAMP signaling and mucin type O-Glycan biosynthesis pathways. With further validation in the future, our study indicates that the four-lncRNA signature could serve as an independent biomarker for survival of colorectal adenocarcinoma.

Role of Urinary Biomarkers in the Diagnosis of Adenoma and Colorectal Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

The growing interest in enhancing and spreading colorectal cancer (CRC) screening has been stimulating the exploration of novel biomarkers with greater sensitivity and specificity than immunochemical faecal occult blood test (iFOBT). The present study provides i) a systematic review of the urinary biomarkers that have been tested to achieve early CRC diagnosis and assess the risk of colorectal adenoma and adenocarcinoma, and ii) a meta-analysis of the data regarding the urinary prostaglandin (PG) metabolite PGE-M. As regard to gene markers, we found significantly different percent methylation of the vimentin gene in CRC patients and healthy controls (HC) (p<0.0001). Respect to metabolism of nitrogenous bases, cytidine, 1-methyladenosine, and adenosine, have higher concentrations in CRC patients than in HC (respectively, p<0.01, p=0.01, and p<0.01). As regard to spermine we found that N1,N12 diacetyl spermine (DiAcSpm) and N1, N8 diacetylspermidine (DiAcSpd) were significantly higher in CRC than in HC (respectively p=0.01 and p<0.01). Respect to PGE-M, levels were higher in CRC than in those with multiple polyposis (p<0.006) and HC subjects (p<0.0004). PGE-M seems to be the most interesting and promising urinary marker for CRC and adenoma risk assessment and for CRC screening. In conclusion, evidence suggests that urinary biomarker could have a potential role as urinary biomarkers in the diagnosis of colorectal cancer. Particularly, PGE-M seems to be the most promising urinary marker for CRC early detection.

Genetics: The Future Is Now with Interprofessional Collaboration

With the growing complexity of health care, interprofessional communication and collaboration are essential to optimize the care of dental patients, including consideration of genetics. A dental case exemplifies the challenges and benefits of an interprofessional approach to managing pediatric patients with oligodontia and a family history of colon cancer. The interprofessional team includes dental, genetic, nutritional, and surgical experts.

The role of interleukin-8 (CXCL8) and CXCR2 in acquired chemoresistance of human colorectal carcinoma cells HCT116

Colorectal cancer is one of the most common malignant diseases and is a leading cause of cancer mortality in the Western world. Primary or acquired resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs is a common phenomenon which causes a failure in cancer treatment. A diverse range of molecular mechanisms has been implicated in drug resistance: DNA damage repair, alterations in drug metabolism, mutation of drug targets, increased rates of drug efflux, and activation of survival signaling pathways. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of CXCL8-CXCR1/2 pathway, its impact on cell proliferation and cytokine expression in human colorectal carcinoma HCT116 cells, and their chemotherapy-resistant subline. We found that IL-1 alpha stimulates the production of CXCL8 through IL-1 receptor signaling. Our data indicate that CXCL8 is upregulated in chemoresistant subline of colorectal cancer cells HCT116, and modulation of CXCR2 pathway can be a target for proliferation inhibition of chemoresistant colorectal cancer cells.