title: Drug resistance, predictive markers and pharmacogenomics in colorectal cancer.
abstract: Resistance to chemotherapy limits the effectiveness of current cancer therapies, including those used to treat colorectal cancer, which is the second most common cause of cancer death in Europe and the United States. 5-Fluorouracil-based chemotherapy regimens are the standard treatment for colorectal cancer in both the adjuvant and advanced disease settings. Drug resistance is thought to cause treatment failure in over 90% of patients with metastatic cancer, while drug resistant micrometastic tumour cells may also reduce the impact of adjuvant chemotherapy treatment. The identification of panels of biomarkers that not only identify those patients most likely to benefit from chemotherapy treatment, but also which chemotherapies to use, would be a major advance. In this review, we describe molecular mechanisms of drug resistance that may be relevant to colorectal cancer. We also describe the results of predictive biomarker studies in this disease. Finally, we discuss how pharmacogenomics and other high through-put technologies may impact on the clinical management of colorectal cancer in the future.
authors.affiliation: Drug Resistance Laboratory, Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, N. Ireland.
authors.forename: Daniel B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Longley
authors.forename: Wendy L
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.forename: Patrick G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Johnston
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism*; D016923:Cell Death / Q000187:drug effects; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D004247:DNA / Q000187:drug effects; D004260:DNA Repair / Q000187:drug effects; D019008:Drug Resistance, Neoplasm / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics*; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D004247:DNA