title: Predictive and Prognostic Molecular Biomarkers for Response to Neoadjuvant Chemoradiation in Rectal Cancer.
abstract: The standard of care in locally advanced rectal cancer is neoadjuvant chemoradiation (nCRT) followed by radical surgery. Response to nCRT varies among patients and pathological complete response is associated with better outcome. However, there is a lack of effective methods to select rectal cancer patients who would or would not have a benefit from nCRT. The utility of clinicopathological and radiological features are limited due to lack of adequate sensitivity and specificity. Molecular biomarkers have the potential to predict response to nCRT at an early time point, but none have currently reached the clinic. Integration of diverse types of biomarkers including clinicopathological and imaging features, identification of mechanistic link to tumor biology, and rigorous validation using samples which represent disease heterogeneity, will allow to develop a sensitive and cost-effective molecular biomarker panel for precision medicine in rectal cancer. Here, we aim to review the recent advance in tissue- and blood-based molecular biomarker research and illustrate their potential in predicting nCRT response in rectal cancer.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Translational Molecular Pathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, TX 77030, USA. DADayde@mdanderson.org.
authors.forename: Delphine
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dayde
authors.affiliation: Departments of Translational Molecular Pathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, TX 77030, USA. ITanaka@mdanderson.org.
authors.forename: Ichidai
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.affiliation: Departments of Translational Molecular Pathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, TX 77030, USA. RJain2@mdanderson.org.
authors.forename: Rekha
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jain
authors.affiliation: Departments of Translational Molecular Pathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, TX 77030, USA. MTai1@mdanderson.org.
authors.forename: Mei Chee
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Tai
authors.affiliation: Departments of Translational Molecular Pathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, TX 77030, USA. ataguchi@mdanderson.org.
authors.forename: Ayumu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Taguchi
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers; D059248:Chemoradiotherapy; D019175:DNA Methylation; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006801:Humans; D055432:Metabolomics / Q000379:methods; D035683:MicroRNAs; D009154:Mutation; D020360:Neoadjuvant Therapy; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D011379:Prognosis; D020543:Proteome; D040901:Proteomics / Q000379:methods; D012004:Rectal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000628:therapy; D059467:Transcriptome; D059016:Tumor Microenvironment
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm; D035683:MicroRNAs; D020543:Proteome
keywords: biomarker; neoadjuvant chemoradiation; rectal cancer