title: Discovery and validation of new potential biomarkers for early detection of colon cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Accurate detection of characteristic proteins secreted by colon cancer tumor cells in biological fluids could serve as a biomarker for the disease. The aim of the present study was to identify and validate new serum biomarkers and demonstrate their potential usefulness for early diagnosis of colon cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was organized in three sequential phases: 1) biomarker discovery, 2) technical and biological validation, and 3) proof of concept to test the potential clinical use of selected biomarkers. A prioritized subset of the differentially-expressed genes between tissue types (50 colon mucosa from cancer-free individuals and 100 normal-tumor pairs from colon cancer patients) was validated and further tested in a series of serum samples from 80 colon cancer cases, 23 patients with adenoma and 77 cancer-free controls.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the discovery phase, 505 unique candidate biomarkers were identified, with highly significant results and high capacity to discriminate between the different tissue types. After a subsequent prioritization, all tested genes (N = 23) were successfully validated in tissue, and one of them, COL10A1, showed relevant differences in serum protein levels between controls, patients with adenoma (p = 0.0083) and colon cancer cases (p = 3.2e-6).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We present a sequential process for the identification and further validation of biomarkers for early detection of colon cancer that identifies COL10A1 protein levels in serum as a potential diagnostic candidate to detect both adenoma lesions and tumor.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The use of a cheap serum test for colon cancer screening should improve its participation rates and contribute to decrease the burden of this disease.
authors.affiliation: Unit of Biomarkers and Susceptibility, Cancer Prevention and Control Program, Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO) and CIBERESP, Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain; Colorectal Cancer Group, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Solé
authors.affiliation: Unit of Biomarkers and Susceptibility, Cancer Prevention and Control Program, Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO) and CIBERESP, Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain; Colorectal Cancer Group, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Crous-Bou
authors.affiliation: Unit of Biomarkers and Susceptibility, Cancer Prevention and Control Program, Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO) and CIBERESP, Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain; Colorectal Cancer Group, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cordero
authors.affiliation: Unit of Biomarkers and Susceptibility, Cancer Prevention and Control Program, Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO) and CIBERESP, Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain; Colorectal Cancer Group, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Olivares
authors.affiliation: Unit of Biomarkers and Susceptibility, Cancer Prevention and Control Program, Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO) and CIBERESP, Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain; Colorectal Cancer Group, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Elisabet
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Guinó
authors.affiliation: Unit of Biomarkers and Susceptibility, Cancer Prevention and Control Program, Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO) and CIBERESP, Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain; Colorectal Cancer Group, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Rebeca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sanz-Pamplona
authors.affiliation: Colorectal Cancer Group, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain; Department of Gastroenterology, University Hospital of Bellvitge, Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rodriguez-Moranta
authors.affiliation: Colorectal Cancer Group, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain; Department of Pathology, University Hospital of Bellvitge, Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Sanjuan
authors.affiliation: Colorectal Cancer Group, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain; Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, Spain; Department of General and Digestive Surgery, Colorectal Unit, University Hospital of Bellvitge, Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: de Oca
authors.affiliation: Colorectal Cancer Group, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain; Department of Medical Oncology, Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO), Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Ramon
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Salazar
authors.affiliation: Unit of Biomarkers and Susceptibility, Cancer Prevention and Control Program, Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO) and CIBERESP, Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain; Colorectal Cancer Group, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain; Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Victor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Moreno
mesh_terms: D000236:Adenoma / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D024121:Collagen Type X / Q000378:metabolism; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000097:blood; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D024121:Collagen Type X; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins