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Personalized Medicine for Gastrointestinal Diseases
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Personalized Medicine for Gastrointestinal Diseases

A special issue of Journal of Personalized Medicine (ISSN 2075-4426). This special issue belongs to the section "Personalized Therapy in Clinical Medicine".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2026 | Viewed by 3707

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Athanasios Syllaios

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. First Department of Surgery, Laikon General Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
2. Colorectal Department, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
Interests: colorectal surgery; colorectal cancer; IBD
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Dimitrios Schizas

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
First Department of Surgery, Laikon General Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
Interests: esophageal cancer; gastric cancer; pancreatic cancer; immunotherapy; personalized medicine; surgery; medical education
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to invite you to contribute to this Special Issue on 'Personalized Medicine for Gastrointestinal Diseases'. The goal of precision medicine is to provide a personalized approach for the prevention, diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of a disease. Gastrointestinal diseases are prevalent and complex conditions that involve a combination of genetic, environmental, infectious, and host-related factors. Gastrointestinal diseases have a significant impact on public health globally, leading to substantial healthcare costs. Understanding their molecular interactions is crucial in unraveling the pathophysiology of these diseases and in developing effective treatments. Recent research has highlighted the importance of the intestinal microbiome and immune factors in the development and progression of gastrointestinal diseases. These insights have revolutionized our understanding of these conditions and paved the way for new therapeutic approaches. Over the past two decades, significant advancements have been made in identifying the molecular mechanisms involved in the development of gastrointestinal diseases, leading to improved treatment options for patients. In recent years, the fields of endoscopy, radiology, and surgery have seen significant advancements due to the rapid development of new techniques. One major contributing factor has been the incorporation of artificial intelligence, which has played a crucial role in driving progress in various aspects of these medical disciplines. Nevertheless, there remain numerous difficult issues to address in the diagnosis and management of gastrointestinal disorders.

This Special Issue aims to compile a diverse selection of papers focused on the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of gastrointestinal diseases. This includes research on new molecular mechanisms, innovative endoscopic and surgical techniques, differential diagnosis methods, diagnostic models, improvements in diagnostic procedures, advancements in endoscopic and surgical treatments, and the utilization of artificial intelligence in the field of gastrointestinal diseases.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Precision medicine for the prevention, prognosis, diagnosis, and differential diagnosis of gastrointestinal diseases.
  • Personalized medicine for the medical treatment of gastrointestinal diseases.
  • Advances in molecular medicine on gastrointestinal diseases.
  • Clinical application of personalized medicine for the diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal diseases.
  • Novel techniques in the diagnosis and treatment (e.g., pharmaceutical, interventional, and surgical) of gastrointestinal diseases.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Athanasios Syllaios
Dr. Dimitrios Schizas
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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

  • personalized medicine
  • molecular mechanisms
  • gastrointestinal diseases
  • artificial intelligence
  • diagnosis and treatment
  • gastrointestinal cancer

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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23 pages, 3668 KB  
Article
The Heterogeneous Interplay Between Metabolism and Mitochondrial Activity in Colorectal Cancer
by Christophe Desterke, Yuanji Fu, Jorge Mata-Garrido, Ahmed Hamaï and Yunhua Chang
J. Pers. Med. 2025, 15(12), 571; https://doi.org/10.3390/jpm15120571 - 28 Nov 2025
Viewed by 343
Abstract
Background: Colorectal cancer is a multifactorial malignancy implicating a wide variety of risk factors, such as genetic, environmental, nutritional, and lifestyle factors, leading to a certain heterogeneity in the development of the disease. Colorectal cancer is generally classified in terms of a [...] Read more.
Background: Colorectal cancer is a multifactorial malignancy implicating a wide variety of risk factors, such as genetic, environmental, nutritional, and lifestyle factors, leading to a certain heterogeneity in the development of the disease. Colorectal cancer is generally classified in terms of a Warburg metabolic phenotype, characterized by an excess of glycolytic axes as compared to oxidative phosphorylation. It is therefore important to better characterize the metabolic heterogeneity of these tumors in relation to their mitochondrial activity. Materials and Methods: Two R-packages (keggmetascore and mitoscore) were developed to explore metabolism, based on KEGG metabolism pathways, and mitochondrial activities, based on mitocarta V3 annotations, for the investigation of diverse transcriptomics data such as bulk or single cell experiments at the single-sample level. Results: Using the two R-packages, we functionally confirmed both regulation of metabolism and mitochondrial activities in LOVO cells after stimulation with metformin. At the single-cell level, in single-cell RNA-sequencing of colorectal tumors, we conjointly observed an activation of metabolism and mitochondrial activities in tumor cells from MSI-high tumors, in contrast to a conjoint repression of metabolism and mitochondrial activity in tumor cells from POLE-mutated tumors. These two types of tumors have distinct responses to immune checkpoint blockade therapy. At the bulk transcriptome level, colorectal tumors present less metabolism/mitochondria activities as compared to normal tissues. Multi-modal integration by co-expression network analysis showed that metabolism/mitochondrial activities are associated with a consensus molecular subtype (CMS) classification of colorectal cancer. Regarding KRAS, BRAF, and TP53 driver gene mutation status, strong repression of metabolism pathways was observed, mainly associated with fewer intra-mitochondrial membrane interactions in tumors harboring a BRAF-V600E mutation. Machine learning using Elastic-net allowed us to build a mixed metabolism/mitochondrial activity score, which was found to be increased in the CMS1-MSI subtype and metastatic samples and to be an independent parameter predictive of BRAF-V600E mutation status in colorectal cancer. Conclusions: These findings underscore the pivotal role of mitochondrial metabolism in colorectal cancer subtyping and highlight its value as a predictive biomarker for personalized therapeutic strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Personalized Medicine for Gastrointestinal Diseases)
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Review

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15 pages, 659 KB  
Review
The Gut Microbiome in Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer: Distinct Signatures, Targeted Prevention and Therapeutic Strategies
by Sara Lauricella, Francesco Brucchi, Roberto Cirocchi, Diletta Cassini and Marco Vitellaro
J. Pers. Med. 2025, 15(11), 552; https://doi.org/10.3390/jpm15110552 - 12 Nov 2025
Viewed by 1083
Abstract
Background/Objectives: The incidence of early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC) is rising worldwide, although its biological and clinical features remain incompletely understood. Emerging evidence implicates gut microbial dysbiosis as a key driver of EOCRC pathogenesis, acting through complex interactions with host genetics, mucosal immunity, and [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: The incidence of early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC) is rising worldwide, although its biological and clinical features remain incompletely understood. Emerging evidence implicates gut microbial dysbiosis as a key driver of EOCRC pathogenesis, acting through complex interactions with host genetics, mucosal immunity, and early-life exposures. This review synthesizes current evidence on EOCRC-specific microbial signatures, delineates host–microbiome interactions, and evaluates how these insights may inform precision prevention, early detection, and therapeutic strategies. Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science up to August 2025, using combinations of “early-onset colorectal cancer,” “gut microbiome,” “dysbiosis,” and “host–microbiome interactions.” Both clinical and preclinical studies were included. Extracted data encompassed microbial composition, mechanistic insights, host-related factors, and microbiome-targeted interventions. Evidence was synthesized narratively to highlight consistent patterns, methodological limitations, and translational implications. Results: EOCRC is consistently associated with enrichment of pro-inflammatory and genotoxic taxa (e.g., Fusobacterium nucleatum, colibactin-producing Escherichia coli, enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis) and depletion of short-chain fatty acid–producing commensals. Multi-omics analyses reveal distinct host–microbiome signatures influenced by germline predisposition, mucosal immunity, sex, and early-life exposures. However, substantial methodological heterogeneity persists. Collectively, these data point to candidate microbial biomarkers for early detection and support the rationale for microbiome-targeted preventive and adjunctive therapeutic approaches. Conclusions: EOCRC harbors unique microbial and host–environmental features that distinguish it from late-onset disease. Integrating host determinants with microbiome signatures provides a framework for precision prevention and tailored therapeutic strategies. Future priorities include harmonizing methodologies, validating microbial biomarkers in asymptomatic young adults, and rigorously testing microbiome-targeted interventions in clinical trials. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Personalized Medicine for Gastrointestinal Diseases)
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Other

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11 pages, 1065 KB  
Systematic Review
Primary Actinomycosis of the Stomach: A Review of the Literature for A Rare Entity
by Afroditi Ziogou, Ilias Giannakodimos, Alexios Giannakodimos, Evangelia Mitakidi, Nikolaos Charalampakis and Petros Ioannou
J. Pers. Med. 2025, 15(3), 116; https://doi.org/10.3390/jpm15030116 - 17 Mar 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1287
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Primary gastric actinomycosis is extremely rare and only a limited number of cases are published in the literature. Actinomycosis is caused by anaerobic Gram-positive bacteria; these microorganisms are members of the normal human microbiome and occasionally lead to infection, especially in immunocompromised [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Primary gastric actinomycosis is extremely rare and only a limited number of cases are published in the literature. Actinomycosis is caused by anaerobic Gram-positive bacteria; these microorganisms are members of the normal human microbiome and occasionally lead to infection, especially in immunocompromised patients or patients subjected to abdominal surgery. Advances in personalized medicine, including tailored antimicrobial therapy based on individual patient profiles, may enhance treatment efficacy and reduce unnecessary interventions. Methods: A review was performed through a literature search of the PubMed/MedLine and Scopus databases. Results: A total of 27 patients were included, 15 males (55.56%) and 12 (44.44%) females, with a mean age of 55.11 ± 17.48 years. Among the included patients, 25.93% had a history of abdominal surgery. Abdominal pain (73.08%), weight loss (40.74%), nausea or vomiting (30.77%) and fever (19.23%) constitute the most commonly reported clinical manifestations. Endoscopy (59.26%), computed tomography (48.15%), ultrasonography (22.22%) and magnetic resonance imaging (11.11%) assisted in indicating the primary lesion. Diagnosis was achieved preoperatively in 66.66% of patients, via endoscopy and biopsy (51.85%) or via cultures (14.81%), while nine cases (33.33%) were diagnosed postoperatively. The therapeutic approaches included antimicrobial administration (32%), surgery (24%) or both (44%). The most widely used antimicrobial was penicillin (77.78%) and the mean duration of antimicrobial treatment was 5.85 months. The protocol for this review was registered in Prospero (ID:CRD42025649532). Conclusions: Due to the divergent clinical presentation of primary gastric actinomycosis, clinicians should be aware of this rare entity in order to establish diagnosis in a timely manner and provide prompt and effective treatment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Personalized Medicine for Gastrointestinal Diseases)
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