Assessment of the Circulating Tumor Cells and Microsatellite Instability in Colorectal Cancer Patients: Prognostic and Diagnostic Value.

Background: Microsatellite instability (MSI) and circulating tumor cells (CTCs) play important roles in the diagnosis, prognosis and management of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients.

Methods: CTCs and MSI were assessed in the blood and representative tumor tissues of 100 CRC patients by flow cytometry (FCM) and PCR amplification. The data were correlated to relevant clinicopathological features of the patients, progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) rates.

Oxaliplatin/5-fluorouracil-based adjuvant chemotherapy as a standard of care for colon cancer in clinical practice: Outcomes of the ACCElox registry.

Aim: The ACCElox registry was set up to assess therapeutic management of early-stage colon cancer with oxaliplatin/5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-based regimen and the duration of adjuvant chemotherapy in current clinical practice.

Methods: This prospective observational study was conducted between 2006 and 2008 in 19 countries on 1548 newly diagnosed patients with stage II/III colon cancer, who had complete resection of the primary tumor and treated with at least one dose of oxaliplatin. The patient/disease characteristics, dose intensity, toxicity management, treatment delay and duration of disease-free survival (DFS)/relapse were assessed.

The prognostic value of c-Kit, K-ras codon 12, and p53 codon 72 mutations in Egyptian patients with stage II colorectal cancer.

Background: The prognosis for patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) depends mainly on standard clinicopathologic factors. However, patients with similar disease characteristics exhibit various outcomes, especially in stage II. Therefore, the identification of molecular prognostic markers is needed to predict patient outcomes.

Raltitrexed (Tomudex) versus standard leucovorin-modulated bolus 5-fluorouracil: Results from the randomised phase III Pan-European Trial in Adjuvant Colon Cancer 01 (PETACC-1).

Objectives: PETACC-1 assessed if raltitrexed is non-inferior to 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin for relapse-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) in adjuvant stage III colon cancer.

Methods: Non-inferiority required both HR for RFS and OS<1.25 at 1-sided alpha=0.

Cyclin A and cyclin D1 as significant prognostic markers in colorectal cancer patients.

Background: Colorectal cancer is a common cancer all over the world. Aberrations in the cell cycle checkpoints have been shown to be of prognostic significance in colorectal cancer.

Methods: The expression of cyclin D1, cyclin A, histone H3 and Ki-67 was examined in 60 colorectal cancer cases for co-regulation and impact on overall survival using immunohistochemistry, southern blot and in situ hybridization techniques.