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Advances in Colorectal Cancer: An Emerging Personalized Therapeutic Opportunity
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Advances in Colorectal Cancer: An Emerging Personalized Therapeutic Opportunity

A special issue of Journal of Personalized Medicine (ISSN 2075-4426). This special issue belongs to the section "Methodology, Drug and Device Discovery".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 16 December 2024 | Viewed by 2565

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Alberto Vannelli

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Surgery, Valduce Hospital, Como, Italy
Interests: colorectal cancer; inflammatory bowel disease; health economics; rectal cancer management; colorectal surgery
Dr. Tommaso A. Dragani

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milan, Italy
Interests: genotype; gene expression; lung cancer; colorectal cancer

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common malignant tumors worldwide, and is projected to increase by 3.2 million new incident cases and account for 1.6 million deaths by 2040. The cumulative findings of the past years demonstrate the existence of different pathways involved in CRC origin and progression; this diversity complicates the optimal timing and selection of treatment regimens for individual patients. Due to the heterogeneity of CRC, surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation are ineffective in all cases. The integration of artificial intelligence algorithms into studies linking CRC to diagnosis and therapy will greatly enhance our understanding of the effects of individual-based cancer care. Furthermore, CRC treatment is entering a new era with robotic surgery and novel computer-assisted drug delivery techniques. This Special Issue aims to highlight the advantages and limitations of personalized medicine in CRC therapy. Studies include those that explore current scenarios of personalized medicine in developed countries and the challenges faced in middle- and low-income countries. Finally, we encourage debates on the future perspectives of personalized medicine in CRC and how it could be integrated into the healthcare system.

Dr. Alberto Vannelli
Dr. Tommaso A. Dragani
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Personalized Medicine is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • biomarkers
  • immunotherapy
  • molecular screening
  • translational research
  • radiotherapy
  • chemotherapy
  • colorectal surgery
  • colorectal cancer management
  • artificial intelligence
  • circulating tumor DNA

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 5968 KiB  
Article
The Impact on Survival of Neoadjuvant Treatment Interruptions in Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer Patients
by Horia-Dan Lișcu, Ionut-Lucian Antone-Iordache, Dimitrie-Ionuț Atasiei, Ioana Valentina Anghel, Andreea-Teodora Ilie, Taraneh Emamgholivand, Andreea-Iuliana Ionescu, Florica Șandru, Christopher Pavel and Flavia Ultimescu
J. Pers. Med. 2024, 14(3), 266; https://doi.org/10.3390/jpm14030266 - 29 Feb 2024
Viewed by 970
Abstract
The standard oncologic treatment of locally advanced rectal cancer is long-course radio-chemotherapy followed by surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy. This can result in a lengthy total treatment duration, sometimes up to one year from the diagnosis. Interruptions to neoadjuvant treatment can occur for a [...] Read more.
The standard oncologic treatment of locally advanced rectal cancer is long-course radio-chemotherapy followed by surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy. This can result in a lengthy total treatment duration, sometimes up to one year from the diagnosis. Interruptions to neoadjuvant treatment can occur for a variety of reasons, forced or unforced. The main purpose of this study is to analyze the survival data of locally advanced rectal cancer patients who received neoadjuvant treatment and to find a cut-off point showing exactly how many days of interruption of neoadjuvant treatment the risk of death or disease relapse increases. We conducted a retrospective study on 299 patients with locally advanced rectal cancer using survival analysis (Kaplan–Meier curve and Cox regression) to determine survival probabilities for overall survival, local control, and disease-free survival. Patients with 0 to 3 days of neoadjuvant therapy interruption had a higher overall survival probability compared to patients with 4 or more days (90.2% compared to 57.9%, p-value < 0.001), hazard ratio 5.89 (p < 0.001). Local control and disease-free survival had a higher probability in patients with 0–2 days of interruption compared to people with 3 or more days (94% vs. 75.4%, and 82.2% vs. 50.5%, respectively, both p-values < 0.001). Patients with tumoral or nodal downstaging experienced fewer days of interruption than patients with no downstage. These findings reinforce the need for radiation oncologists to be well-organized when starting neoadjuvant treatment for rectal cancer, in order to anticipate and prevent potential treatment interruptions and achieve the best therapeutic results. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Colorectal Cancer: An Emerging Personalized Therapeutic Opportunity)
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13 pages, 3001 KiB  
Article
The Role of SPEN Mutations as Predictive Biomarkers for Immunotherapy Response in Colorectal Cancer: Insights from a Retrospective Cohort Analysis
by Yuanmei Dong, Sisi Ye, Huizi Li, Juan Li, Rongrui Liu and Yanyun Zhu
J. Pers. Med. 2024, 14(2), 131; https://doi.org/10.3390/jpm14020131 - 23 Jan 2024
Viewed by 1293
Abstract
Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the leading cause of cancer deaths, and treatment, especially in the metastatic stage, is challenging. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionized CRC treatment, but response varies, emphasizing the need for effective biomarkers. This study explores SPEN mutations as [...] Read more.
Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the leading cause of cancer deaths, and treatment, especially in the metastatic stage, is challenging. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionized CRC treatment, but response varies, emphasizing the need for effective biomarkers. This study explores SPEN mutations as potential biomarkers. Methods: Using data from the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA)—Colorectal Cancer, this research applied bioinformatics tools and statistical analysis to SPEN (Split Ends) mutant and wild-type CRC patients treated with ICIs. Focus areas included mutation rates, immune cell infiltration, and DNA damage response pathways. Results: The SPEN mutation rate was found to be 13.8% (15/109 patients) in the MSKCC cohort and 6.65% (35/526 patients) in the TCGA cohort. Our findings indicate that CRC patients with SPEN mutations had a longer median overall survival (OS) than the wild-type group. These patients also had higher tumor mutational burden (TMB), microsatellite instability (MSI) scores, and programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression. SPEN mutants also exhibited increased DNA damage response (DDR) pathway mutations and a greater presence of activated immune cells, like M1 macrophages and CD8+ T cells, while wild-type patients had more resting/suppressive immune cells. Furthermore, distinct mutation patterns, notably with TP53, indicated a unique molecular subtype in SPEN-mutated CRC. Conclusions: We conclude that SPEN mutations might improve ICI efficacy in CRC due to increased immunogenicity and an inflammatory tumor microenvironment. SPEN mutations could be predictive biomarkers for ICI responsiveness, underscoring their value in personalized therapy and highlighting the importance of genomic data in clinical decisions. This research lays the groundwork for future precision oncology studies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Colorectal Cancer: An Emerging Personalized Therapeutic Opportunity)
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