3 research outputs found
Assessment of cumulated genetic alterations in colorectal cancer
Widespread genetic alterations are a common
feature of most colorectal cancers. While specific
recurrent alterations may reveal the involvement of a
gene or set of genes in the biology of the disease, the
cumulated genomic damage is likely to reflect the
biological history of the neoplastic cells. Furthermore,
the functional implications behind many of these genetic
changes may show the evolutionary potential of the
neoplastic cells. Different approaches, ranging from the
gross determination of total nuclear DNA content to
cytogenetic and molecular approaches, reveal different
types of chromosomal and subchromosomal alterations
and have been applied to measure generalized genomic
damage in colorectal carcinomas. High levels of
genomic damage usually appear associated with
increased aggressiveness in colorectal cancer, and the
use of different assessments of genomic damage as
independent prognostic factors has been proposed.
Therefore, appropriate definition of the extent of
cumulated alterations and their functional consequences
may be of interest in the understanding and management
of cancer. The different methodologies and clues to the
interpretation and integration of the results obtained with
each technique are discussed in this review