Identification of proteomic markers for prediction of the response to 5-Fluorouracil based neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy in locally advanced rectal cancer patients.

Background: Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) prior to surgery is the standard treatment for patients with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC), while parts of them show poor therapeutic response accompanied by therapy adverse effects. Predictive biomarkers for nCRT response could facilitate the guidance on treatment decisions but are still insufficient until now, which limits the clinical applications of nCRT in LARC patients.

Methods: In our study, 37 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumor biopsies were obtained from patients with LARC before receiving 5-fluorouracil based nCRT.