title: Biomarkers and Molecular Imaging as Predictors of Response to Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy in Patients With Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer.
abstract: Standard treatment of patients with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) includes neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NCRT) followed by surgery. Tumor regression after NCRT varies substantially among individuals and pathological complete response is a known prognostic factor for LARC. The identification of a predictive model for response to chemoradiotherapy would help clinicians to identify patients who would probably benefit from multimodal treatment and to perform an early assessment of individual prognosis. Carcinoembryonic antigen has proven to be a good predictor of response in several clinical trials. Other widely studied predictive models in LARC include molecular biomarkers, analyzed at various levels and by different techniques, and molecular imaging, in particular magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography/computed tomography. Although none of the studied markers have been approved in clinical practice, their evaluation in larger, prospective trials and in combined predictive models could be of use to define tailored therapeutic strategies.
authors.affiliation: Biosciences Laboratory, Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST) IRCCS, Meldola, Italy.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Molinari
authors.affiliation: Diagnostic Nuclear Medicine Unit, Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST) IRCCS, Meldola, Italy.
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Matteucci
authors.affiliation: Diagnostic Nuclear Medicine Unit, Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST) IRCCS, Meldola, Italy.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Caroli
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST) IRCCS, Meldola, Italy. Electronic address: alessandro.passardi@irst.emr.it.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Passardi
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism*; D059186:Chemoradiotherapy, Adjuvant / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D057054:Molecular Imaging / Q000379:methods; D020360:Neoadjuvant Therapy / Q000379:methods; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods; D011379:Prognosis; D012004:Rectal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor
keywords: LARC; MRI; NCRT; PET-CT; Predictive markers