The new opportunities from the clinical multi-gene panel sequesing for the molecular stratification of the metastatic in the collateral cancer

Short Communication - Journal of Cancer Immunology & Therapy (2021) Volume 4, Issue 2

Colorectal carcinoma (CRC) is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers worldwide. The metastatic

disease contributes to the high mortality rate reported for such tumors. Significant benefit on overall survival

was brought about the introduction of monoclonal antibodies anti-EGFR and antiVEGF used in combination

with chemotherapy in metastatic CRC (mCRC). While anti-VEGF treatment does not require biomarkerbased

selection criteria, the potential efficacy of anti-EGFR antibodies is neglected to patients with activating

mutations in KRAS and NRAS (RAS) genes, that became a clinical routine. Recently, different molecular

classification of CRC patients mostly based on omics approaches has been proposed. Although these might

have implications for prognostic or therapy decisions, their immediate transfer to routine diagnostic/

clinical settings is seriously challenging in terms of methodology, turnaround time, costs and mindset. As

a consequence, to date, only few molecular biomarkers, such as RAS or BRAF, are routinely used in the

standard clinical management of mCRC patients, but in the era of personalized therapy, we should be able

to reach beyond the concept “one gene-one drug”. With the aim of responding to the clinical demand of RAS

testing, many new rapid, sensitive and economic approaches have been implemented over the years, among

them the NGS platforms

Author(s): Bgelardinilli