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Colorectal cancer, also known as bowel cancer, is a cancer formed by uncontrolled cell growth in the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine), or in the appendix. Genetic analysis shows that colon and rectal tumours are genetically the same cancer.
Multimodal NPs for cancer theranostics show selective release, uptake, and reduced cancer cell survival when combined with radiation. In vivo tracking confirms efficacy with minimal side effects by targeted NPs containing chemo/radio/contrast agents.
In a recent study published in Nature, Goto et al. explore mechanisms of immune evasion in early colorectal cancers and adenomas and identify SOX17 to be crucial for immune escape through suppression of interferon-γ signalling.
We present SCORPION, a computational tool to model gene regulatory networks based on single-cell transcriptomic data and prior knowledge of gene regulation. SCORPION networks can be modeled for specific cell types in individual samples, and are therefore suitable for conducting comparisons between experimental groups.
Live microorganisms can be manipulated and engineered for colorectal cancer detection and treatment through methods such as faecal microbiota transplantation, native bacteria engineering and synthetic circuit engineering. Although promising, substantial effort is required to translate these approaches for clinical use.
Self-renewing cancer stem cells drive tumor initiation and progression and represent a major target for therapeutic development. A study now shows that vanoxerine, a dopamine transporter antagonist, precisely inhibits this cell population in colorectal cancer, which leads to attenuation of tumor initiation and increased infiltration by immune cells.
Metastatic colorectal cancer is a heterogeneous disease associated with poor patient outcomes. Although the past decade has seen few first-line treatment advances, key studies published in 2023 established new options for late-line therapy of the disease with and without oncogenic drivers, thus expanding the continuum of care in metastatic colorectal cancer.