Establishing Criteria for Tumor Necrosis as Prognostic Indicator in Colorectal Cancer.

Tumor necrosis has been reported to represent an independent prognostic factor in colorectal cancer, but its evaluation methods have not been described in sufficient detail to introduce tumor necrosis evaluation into clinical use. To study the potential of tumor necrosis as a prognostic indicator in colorectal cancer, criteria for 3 methods for its evaluation were defined: the average percentage method (tumor necrosis percentage of the whole tumor), the hotspot method (tumor necrosis percentage in a single hotspot), and the linear method (the diameter of the single largest necrotic focus). Cox regression models were used to calculate cancer-specific mortality hazard ratios (HRs) for tumor necrosis categories in 2 colorectal cancer cohorts with more than 1800 cases.

Exome sequencing identified rare recurrent copy number variants and hereditary breast cancer susceptibility.

Copy number variants (CNVs) are a major source of genetic variation and can disrupt genes or affect gene dosage. They are known to be causal or underlie predisposition to various diseases. However, the role of CNVs in inherited breast cancer susceptibility has not been thoroughly investigated.

Putative anoikis resistant subpopulations are enriched in lymph node metastases and indicate adverse prognosis in colorectal carcinoma.

Anoikis refers to apoptosis induced by the loss of contact with the extracellular matrix. Anoikis resistance is essential for metastasis. We have recently shown that it is possible to quantitatively evaluate putative anoikis resistant (AR) subpopulations in colorectal carcinoma (CRC).