Prognostic and Predictive Value of Tumor Budding in Colorectal Cancer.

Background: Tumor budding (TB) is an adverse prognostic factor in colorectal cancer (CRC). International consensus on a standardized assessment method has led to its wider reporting. However, uncertainty regarding its clinical value persists.

Validation study of a quantitative multigene reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction assay for assessment of recurrence risk in patients with stage II colon cancer.

Purpose: We developed quantitative gene expression assays to assess recurrence risk and benefits from chemotherapy in patients with stage II colon cancer.

Patients And Methods: We sought validation by using RNA extracted from fixed paraffin-embedded primary colon tumor blocks from 1,436 patients with stage II colon cancer in the QUASAR (Quick and Simple and Reliable) study of adjuvant fluoropyrimidine chemotherapy versus surgery alone. A recurrence score (RS) and a treatment score (TS) were calculated from gene expression levels of 13 cancer-related genes (n = 7 recurrence genes and n = 6 treatment benefit genes) and from five reference genes with prespecified algorithms.