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Chang A, Prabhala S, Daneshkhah A, Lin J, Subramanian H, Roy HK, Backman V. Early screening of colorectal cancer using feature engineering with artificial intelligence-enhanced analysis of nanoscale chromatin modifications. Sci Rep 2024; 14:7808. [PMID: 38565871 PMCID: PMC10987630 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-58016-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2023] [Accepted: 03/25/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Colonoscopy is accurate but inefficient for colorectal cancer (CRC) prevention due to the low (~ 7 to 8%) prevalence of target lesions, advanced adenomas. We leveraged rectal mucosa to identify patients who harbor CRC field carcinogenesis by evaluating chromatin 3D architecture. Supranucleosomal disordered chromatin chains (~ 5 to 20 nm, ~1 kbp) fold into chromatin packing domains (~ 100 to 200 nm, ~ 100 to 1000 kbp). In turn, the fractal-like conformation of DNA within chromatin domains and the folding of the genome into packing domains has been shown to influence multiple facets of gene transcription, including the transcriptional plasticity of cancer cells. We deployed an optical spectroscopic nanosensing technique, chromatin-sensitive partial wave spectroscopic microscopy (csPWS), to evaluate the packing density scaling D of the chromatin chain conformation within packing domains from rectal mucosa in 256 patients with varying degrees of progression to colorectal cancer. We found average packing scaling D of chromatin domains was elevated in tumor cells, histologically normal-appearing cells 4 cm proximal to the tumor, and histologically normal-appearing rectal mucosa compared to cells from control patients (p < 0.001). Nuclear D had a robust correlation with the model of 5-year risk of CRC with r2 = 0.94. Furthermore, rectal D was evaluated as a screening biomarker for patients with advanced adenomas presenting an AUC of 0.85 and 85% sensitivity and specificity. artificial intelligence-enhanced csPWS improved diagnostic performance with AUC = 0.90. Considering the low sensitivity of existing CRC tests, including liquid biopsies, to early-stage cancers our work highlights the potential of chromatin biomarkers of field carcinogenesis in detecting early, significant precancerous colon lesions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Chang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
| | - Sravya Prabhala
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
| | - Ali Daneshkhah
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
| | | | - Hariharan Subramanian
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
- NanoCytomics, Evanston, IL, USA
| | | | - Vadim Backman
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
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2
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Toth JF, Trivedi M, Gupta S. Screening for Colorectal Cancer: The Role of Clinical Laboratories. Clin Chem 2024; 70:150-164. [PMID: 38175599 PMCID: PMC10952004 DOI: 10.1093/clinchem/hvad198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2023] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a leading cause of cancer incidence and mortality. Screening can result in reductions in incidence and mortality, but there are many challenges to uptake and follow-up. CONTENT Here, we will review the changing epidemiology of CRC, including increasing trends for early and later onset CRC; evidence to support current and emerging screening strategies, including noninvasive stool and blood-based tests; key challenges to ensuring uptake and high-quality screening; and the critical role that clinical laboratories can have in supporting health system and public health efforts to reduce the burden of CRC on the population. SUMMARY Clinical laboratories have the opportunity to play a seminal role in optimizing early detection and prevention of CRC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph F Toth
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of California San Diego Health, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - Mehul Trivedi
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of California San Diego Health, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - Samir Gupta
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of California San Diego Health, La Jolla, CA, United States
- Department of Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, United States
- Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of California San Diego Health, La Jolla, CA, United States
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3
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Chang A, Prabhala S, Daneshkhah A, Lin J, Subramanian H, Roy HK, Backman V. Early screening of colorectal cancer using feature engineering with artificial intelligence-enhanced analysis of nanoscale chromatin modifications. RESEARCH SQUARE 2023:rs.3.rs-3500134. [PMID: 37961494 PMCID: PMC10635400 DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3500134/v1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2023]
Abstract
Colonoscopy is accurate but inefficient for colorectal cancer (CRC) prevention due to the low (~ 7-8%) prevalence of target lesions, advanced adenomas. We leveraged rectal mucosa to identify patients who harbor CRC field carcinogenesis by evaluating chromatin 3D architecture. Supranucleosomal disordered chromatin chains (~ 5-20 nm, ~ 1 kbp) fold into chromatin packing domains (~ 100-200 nm, ~ 100-1,000 kbp). In turn, the fractal-like conformation of DNA within chromatin domains and the folding of the genome into packing domains has been shown to influence multiple facets of gene transcription, including the transcriptional plasticity of cancer cells. We deployed an optical spectroscopic nanosensing technique, chromatin-sensitive partial wave spectroscopic microscopy (csPWS), to evaluate the packing density scaling D of the chromatin chain conformation within packing domains from rectal mucosa in 256 patients with varying degrees of progression to colorectal cancer. We found average packing scaling D of chromatin domains was elevated in tumor cells, histologically normal-appearing cells 4 cm proximal to the tumor, and histologically normal-appearing rectal mucosa compared to cells from control patients (p < 0.001). Nuclear D had a robust correlation with the model of 5-year risk of CRC with r2 = 0.94. Furthermore, rectal D was evaluated as a screening biomarker for patients with advanced adenomas presenting an AUC of 0.85 and 85% sensitivity and specificity. Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enhanced csPWS improved diagnostic performance with AUC = 0.90. Considering the low sensitivity of existing CRC tests, including liquid biopsies, to early-stage cancers our work highlights the potential of chromatin biomarkers of field carcinogenesis in detecting early, significant precancerous colon lesions.
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Chang A, Prabhala S, Daneshkhah A, Lin J, Subramanian H, Roy HK, Backman V. Early screening of colorectal cancer using feature engineering with artificial intelligence-enhanced analysis of nanoscale chromatin modifications. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2023:2023.10.30.23297790. [PMID: 37961299 PMCID: PMC10635240 DOI: 10.1101/2023.10.30.23297790] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2023]
Abstract
Colonoscopy is accurate but inefficient for colorectal cancer (CRC) prevention due to the low (~7-8%) prevalence of target lesions, advanced adenomas. We leveraged rectal mucosa to identify patients who harbor CRC field carcinogenesis by evaluating chromatin 3D architecture. Supranucleosomal disordered chromatin chains (~5-20 nm, ~1 kbp) fold into chromatin packing domains (~100-200 nm, ~100-1,000 kbp). In turn, the fractal-like conformation of DNA within chromatin domains and the folding of the genome into packing domains has been shown to influence multiple facets of gene transcription, including the transcriptional plasticity of cancer cells. We deployed an optical spectroscopic nanosensing technique, chromatin-sensitive partial wave spectroscopic microscopy (csPWS), to evaluate the packing density scaling D of the chromatin chain conformation within packing domains from rectal mucosa in 256 patients with varying degrees of progression to colorectal cancer. We found average packing scaling D of chromatin domains was elevated in tumor cells, histologically normal-appearing cells 4 cm proximal to the tumor, and histologically normal-appearing rectal mucosa compared to cells from control patients (p<0.001). Nuclear D had a robust correlation with the model of 5-year risk of CRC with r2=0.94. Furthermore, rectal D was evaluated as a screening biomarker for patients with advanced adenomas presenting an AUC of 0.85 and 85% sensitivity and specificity. Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enhanced csPWS improved diagnostic performance with AUC=0.90. Considering the low sensitivity of existing CRC tests, including liquid biopsies, to early-stage cancers our work highlights the potential of chromatin biomarkers of field carcinogenesis in detecting early, significant precancerous colon lesions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Chang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
| | - Sravya Prabhala
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
| | - Ali Daneshkhah
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
| | | | - Hariharan Subramanian
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
- NanoCytomics, Evanston, IL, USA
| | | | - Vadim Backman
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
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5
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Sánchez-Herrero E, Serna-Blasco R, Robado de Lope L, González-Rumayor V, Romero A, Provencio M. Circulating Tumor DNA as a Cancer Biomarker: An Overview of Biological Features and Factors That may Impact on ctDNA Analysis. Front Oncol 2022; 12:943253. [PMID: 35936733 PMCID: PMC9350013 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2022.943253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2022] [Accepted: 06/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Cancer cells release nucleic acids, freely or associated with other structures such as vesicles into body fluids, including blood. Among these nucleic acids, circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) has emerged as a minimally invasive biomarker for tumor molecular profiling. However, certain biological characteristics of ctDNA are still unknown. Here, we provide an overview of the current knowledge about ctDNA biological features, including size and structure as well as the mechanisms of ctDNA shedding and clearance, and the physio-pathological factors that determine ctDNA levels. A better understanding of ctDNA biology is essential for the development of new methods that enable the analysis of ctDNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Estela Sánchez-Herrero
- Liquid Biopsy Laboratory. Biomedical Sciences Research Institute Puerta de Hierro-Majadahonda, Majadahonda, Spain
- +D Department, Atrys Health, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Roberto Serna-Blasco
- Liquid Biopsy Laboratory. Biomedical Sciences Research Institute Puerta de Hierro-Majadahonda, Majadahonda, Spain
| | - Lucia Robado de Lope
- Liquid Biopsy Laboratory. Biomedical Sciences Research Institute Puerta de Hierro-Majadahonda, Majadahonda, Spain
| | | | - Atocha Romero
- Liquid Biopsy Laboratory. Biomedical Sciences Research Institute Puerta de Hierro-Majadahonda, Majadahonda, Spain
- Medical Oncology Department, Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro-Majadahonda, Majadahonda, Spain
- *Correspondence: Atocha Romero, ; orcid.org/0000-0002-1634-7397
| | - Mariano Provencio
- Liquid Biopsy Laboratory. Biomedical Sciences Research Institute Puerta de Hierro-Majadahonda, Majadahonda, Spain
- Medical Oncology Department, Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro-Majadahonda, Majadahonda, Spain
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Mukherji R, Yin C, Hameed R, Alqahtani AZ, Kulasekaran M, He AR, Weinberg BA, Marshall JL, Hartley ML, Noel MS. The current state of molecular profiling in gastrointestinal malignancies. Biol Direct 2022; 17:15. [PMID: 35668531 PMCID: PMC9172079 DOI: 10.1186/s13062-022-00322-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2022] [Accepted: 02/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
This is a review of the current state of molecular profiling in gastrointestinal (GI) cancers and what to expect from this evolving field in the future. Individualized medicine is moving from broad panel testing of numerous genes or gene products in tumor biopsy samples, identifying biomarkers of prognosis and treatment response, to relatively noninvasive liquid biopsy assays, building on what we have learned in our tumor analysis and growing into its own evolving predictive and prognostic subspecialty. Hence, the field of GI precision oncology is exploding, and this review endeavors to summarize where we are now in preparation for the journey ahead.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reetu Mukherji
- The Ruesch Center for the Cure of GI Cancers, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center, 3800 Reservoir Rd. NW, Washington, DC, 20007, USA.,MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, 3800 Reservoir Rd. NW, Washington, DC, 20007, USA
| | - Chao Yin
- The Ruesch Center for the Cure of GI Cancers, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center, 3800 Reservoir Rd. NW, Washington, DC, 20007, USA.,MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, 3800 Reservoir Rd. NW, Washington, DC, 20007, USA
| | - Rumaisa Hameed
- The Ruesch Center for the Cure of GI Cancers, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center, 3800 Reservoir Rd. NW, Washington, DC, 20007, USA.,MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, 3800 Reservoir Rd. NW, Washington, DC, 20007, USA
| | - Ali Z Alqahtani
- The Ruesch Center for the Cure of GI Cancers, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center, 3800 Reservoir Rd. NW, Washington, DC, 20007, USA.,MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, 3800 Reservoir Rd. NW, Washington, DC, 20007, USA
| | - Monika Kulasekaran
- The Ruesch Center for the Cure of GI Cancers, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center, 3800 Reservoir Rd. NW, Washington, DC, 20007, USA.,MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, 3800 Reservoir Rd. NW, Washington, DC, 20007, USA
| | - Aiwu R He
- The Ruesch Center for the Cure of GI Cancers, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center, 3800 Reservoir Rd. NW, Washington, DC, 20007, USA.,MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, 3800 Reservoir Rd. NW, Washington, DC, 20007, USA
| | - Benjamin A Weinberg
- The Ruesch Center for the Cure of GI Cancers, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center, 3800 Reservoir Rd. NW, Washington, DC, 20007, USA.,MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, 3800 Reservoir Rd. NW, Washington, DC, 20007, USA
| | - John L Marshall
- The Ruesch Center for the Cure of GI Cancers, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center, 3800 Reservoir Rd. NW, Washington, DC, 20007, USA.,MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, 3800 Reservoir Rd. NW, Washington, DC, 20007, USA
| | - Marion L Hartley
- The Ruesch Center for the Cure of GI Cancers, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center, 3800 Reservoir Rd. NW, Washington, DC, 20007, USA
| | - Marcus S Noel
- The Ruesch Center for the Cure of GI Cancers, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center, 3800 Reservoir Rd. NW, Washington, DC, 20007, USA. .,MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, 3800 Reservoir Rd. NW, Washington, DC, 20007, USA.
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7
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Dean J, Goldberg E, Michor F. Designing optimal allocations for cancer screening using queuing network models. PLoS Comput Biol 2022; 18:e1010179. [PMID: 35622852 PMCID: PMC9182689 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2021] [Revised: 06/09/2022] [Accepted: 05/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Cancer is one of the leading causes of death, but mortality can be reduced by detecting tumors earlier so that treatment is initiated at a less aggressive stage. The tradeoff between costs associated with screening and its benefit makes the decision of whom to screen and when a challenge. To enable comparisons across screening strategies for any cancer type, we demonstrate a mathematical modeling platform based on the theory of queuing networks designed for quantifying the benefits of screening strategies. Our methodology can be used to design optimal screening protocols and to estimate their benefits for specific patient populations. Our method is amenable to exact analysis, thus circumventing the need for simulations, and is capable of exactly quantifying outcomes given variability in the age of diagnosis, rate of progression, and screening sensitivity and intervention outcomes. We demonstrate the power of this methodology by applying it to data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program. Our approach estimates the benefits that various novel screening programs would confer to different patient populations, thus enabling us to formulate an optimal screening allocation and quantify its potential effects for any cancer type and intervention. We describe a mathematical modeling methodology that offers quantitative insights into the potential benefits of screening and other interventions on cancer mortality. Our queuing-theoretic approach represents a potentially useful alternative to more traditional modeling approaches, in that it can provide more detailed results and entirely circumvents the need for simulations. Our methodology can be widely applied to estimate costs and benefits of screening strategies. By providing a detailed example of our method applied to epidemiological data, we hope to encourage greater uptake of this methodology in the community.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin Dean
- Department of Data Science, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Evan Goldberg
- Department of Data Science, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Franziska Michor
- Department of Data Science, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Center for Cancer Evolution, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
- The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- The Ludwig Center at Harvard, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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8
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Mauri G, Vitiello PP, Sogari A, Crisafulli G, Sartore-Bianchi A, Marsoni S, Siena S, Bardelli A. Liquid biopsies to monitor and direct cancer treatment in colorectal cancer. Br J Cancer 2022; 127:394-407. [PMID: 35264786 PMCID: PMC9346106 DOI: 10.1038/s41416-022-01769-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2021] [Revised: 02/02/2022] [Accepted: 02/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most prevalent and deadly cancers worldwide. Despite recent improvements in treatment and prevention, most of the current therapeutic options are weighted by side effects impacting patients’ quality of life. Better patient selection towards systemic treatments represents an unmet clinical need. The recent multidisciplinary and molecular advancements in the treatment of CRC patients demand the identification of efficient biomarkers allowing to personalise patient care. Currently, core tumour biopsy specimens represent the gold-standard biological tissue to identify such biomarkers. However, technical feasibility, tumour heterogeneity and cancer evolution are major limitations of this single-snapshot approach. Genotyping circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) has been addressed as potentially overcoming such limitations. Indeed, ctDNA has been retrospectively demonstrated capable of identifying minimal residual disease post-surgery and post-adjuvant treatment, as well as spotting druggable molecular alterations for tailoring treatments in metastatic disease. In this review, we summarise the available evidence on ctDNA applicability in CRC. Then, we review ongoing clinical trials assessing how liquid biopsy can be used interventionally to guide therapeutic choice in localised, locally advanced and metastatic CRC. Finally, we discuss how its widespread could transform CRC patients’ management, dissecting its limitations while suggesting improvement strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gianluca Mauri
- IFOM-FIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology, Milan, Italy.,Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Pietro Paolo Vitiello
- Candiolo Cancer Institute, FPO-IRCCS, 10060, Candiolo, TO, Italy.,Department of Oncology, University of Torino, 10060, Candiolo, TO, Italy
| | - Alberto Sogari
- Candiolo Cancer Institute, FPO-IRCCS, 10060, Candiolo, TO, Italy.,Department of Oncology, University of Torino, 10060, Candiolo, TO, Italy
| | - Giovanni Crisafulli
- Candiolo Cancer Institute, FPO-IRCCS, 10060, Candiolo, TO, Italy.,Department of Oncology, University of Torino, 10060, Candiolo, TO, Italy
| | - Andrea Sartore-Bianchi
- Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.,Department of Hematology, Oncology, and Molecular Medicine, Grande Ospedale Metropolitano Niguarda, 20162, Milan, Italy
| | | | - Salvatore Siena
- Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.,Department of Hematology, Oncology, and Molecular Medicine, Grande Ospedale Metropolitano Niguarda, 20162, Milan, Italy
| | - Alberto Bardelli
- Candiolo Cancer Institute, FPO-IRCCS, 10060, Candiolo, TO, Italy. .,Department of Oncology, University of Torino, 10060, Candiolo, TO, Italy.
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