Genetic unraveling of colorectal cancer

Abstract

Colorectal cancer is a common disease in both men and women (being the third most common cancer in men and the second most common among women) and thus represents an important and serious public health issue, especially in the western world. Although it is a well-established fact that cancers of the large intestine produce symptoms relatively earlier at a stage that can be easily cured by resection, a large number of people lose their lives to this deadly disease each year. Recent times have seen an important change in the incidence of colorectal cancer in different parts of the world. The etiology of colorectal cancer is multifactorial and is likely to involve the actions of genes at multiple levels along the multistage carcinogenesis process. Exhaustive efforts have been made out in the direction of unraveling the role of various environmental factors, gene mutations, and polymorphisms worldwide (as well as in Kashmir-"a valley of gastrointestinal cancers") that have got a role to play in the development of this disease so that antitumor drugs could be developed against this cancer, first, and, finally, the responsiveness or resistance to these agents could be understood for combating this global issue.

Contribution of Murine Double Minute 2 Genotypes to Colorectal Cancer Risk in Taiwan

“…From the epidemiological viewpoint, studies have attributed more than 85% of CRC etiology to lifestyle/environmental risk factors, particularly meat consumption, cigarette smoking, and exposure to carcinogenic aromatic amines, such as arylamines and heterocyclic amines (6,7). Statistically, 15-20% of CRC cases have strong familial cancer history that have led molecular epidemiologists to be interested in additional genomic susceptibility factors (8)(9)(10). In Taiwan, although specific biomarkers for early detection of CRC have been examined during recent years (11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16), useful genomic markers are still in urgent need and the mechanisms underlying them are largely unknown.…”

CSBF/C10orf99, a novel potential cytokine, inhibits colon cancer cell growth through inducing G1 arrest

“…CRC represents the third most common cancer in the world 24 . Its development is a multistage process characterized by a complex interaction between genetic alterations and host immune system 25 26 . Proto-oncogenes, including K-ras and c-myc 27 , play important roles in colorectal carcinogenesis.…”

The Contribution of Excision Repair Cross-complementing Group 1 Genotypes to Colorectal Cancer Susceptibility in Taiwan

“…Etiological studies have attributed more than 85% of CRC to risk environmental factors (1-3), particularly meat consumption, cigarette smoking, exposure to carcinogenic aromatic amines, such as arylamines and heterocyclic amines (4,5). About 15-20% of CRC cases are with strong familial history of cancer that have interested the epidemiologists to figure out additional inherited susceptibility factors (6)(7)(8). In Taiwan, although specific biomarkers for CRC prediction and detection have keeping on being reported in recent years (9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16), the genomic susceptibility of CRC and the interactions among the genomic and environmental risk factors are mostly unknown.…”