Novel biotechnology approaches in colorectal cancer diagnosis and therapy

Abstract

With ever-increasing molecular information about colorectal cancer (CRC), there is an expectation to detect more sensitive and specific molecular markers for new advanced diagnostic methods that can surpass the limitations of current screening tests. Moreover, enhanced molecular pathology knowledge about cancer has led to the development of targeted therapies, designed to interfere with specific aberrant biological pathways in cancer. Furthermore, biotechnology has opened a new window in CRC diagnosis and treatment by introducing different application of antibodies, antibody fragments, non-Ig scaffold proteins, and aptamers in targeted therapy and drug delivery. This review summarizes the molecular diagnostic and therapeutic approaches in CRC with a focus on genetic and epigenetic alterations, protein and metabolite markers as well as targeted therapy and drug delivery by Ig-scaffold proteins, non-Ig scaffold proteins, nanobodies, and aptamers.

Novel cucurmosin‐based immunotoxin targeting programmed cell death 1‐ligand 1 with high potency against human tumor in vitro and in vivo

“…Antibody‐based biological drugs are one of the well‐accepted therapeutic strategies in cancer therapy 1,2 . Immunotoxins (ITs) are Ab‐cytotoxin chimeric molecules with specific cell killing ability 3 .…”

Poly (methacrylic acid)‐based molecularly imprinted polymer nanoparticles containing 5‐fluourouracil used in colon cancer therapy potentially

“…Therefore, the drug concentration not only must be in its therapeutic dosage, but it should be also below the toxicity threshold . By considering these shortcomings, it seems that choosing an appropriate polymer carrier for transferring 5‐FU will be an inspiring solution for reducing the systemic adverse side effects and achieving safer treatment processes …”

Anticancer Activities of Meroterpenoids Isolated from the Brown Alga Cystoseira usneoides against the Human Colon Cancer Cells HT-29

“…The fractions eluted with n-hexane /Et 2 O (30:70, v/v), Et 2 O, and chloroform/MeOH (95:5, v/v) were subjected to CC eluting with n-hexane/ethyl acetate (EtOAc) mixtures. Repeated separation of selected subfractions by normal phase HPLC using n-hexane/ EtOAc (60:40 and 50:50, v/v) or n-hexane/isopropanol (90/10, v/v) as eluents afforded eight pure compounds (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8). CC was performed on silica gel (Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany) and HPLC separations were performed on a LaChrom-Hitachi apparatus (Merck) equipped with LiChrospher Si-60 (250 × 10 mm, 10 µm) (Merck) and Luna Si (2) (250 × 4.6 mm, 5 µm) (Phenomenex, Torrance, CA, USA) columns, using an RI-71 differential refractometer or L-7400 UV detector (Merck).…”

“…CRC is the third most common type of cancer and the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide [1]. Treatments such as surgical excision, chemotherapy using cytotoxic drugs, and radiotherapy constitute the major current therapeutic regimens for colon cancer [2,3]. However, these therapeutic possibilities are only moderately successful for late-stage cancers and produce harmful side effects such as high toxicity or the increase of drug resistance and of the problems associated with metastasis.…”