Genetic polymorphisms predict response to anti-tumor necrosis factor treatment in Crohn's disease.

Aim: To investigate genetic factors that might help define which Crohn's disease (CD) patients are likely to benefit from anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) therapy.

Methods: This was a prospective cohort study. Patients were recruited from a university digestive disease practice database.

The actin-cytoskeleton pathway and its potential role in inflammatory bowel disease-associated human colorectal cancer.

Introduction: To improve our understanding of the various clinical phenotypes in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)-associated colorectal cancer (CRC) and provide potential targets for early diagnosis and future therapy, we sought to identify new candidate genes and molecular pathways involved in the pathogenesis and progression of this disorder. Recent evidence has implicated the actin-cytoskeleton pathway in the development of metastatic sporadic CRC through cytoskeletal proteins such as fascin-1. We hereby propose that similar genetic polymorphisms and mutations among regulatory genes of the actin-cytoskeleton pathway may also be associated with increased dysplasia, carcinogenesis, and susceptibility for invasion and metastasis in IBD-associated CRC, as compared with sporadic CRC.