Prognostic factors in colorectal cancer

Title: Prognostic value of the instability of microsatellites, mutation of BRAF and percentage tumor - stroma in colon cancer stage II
Period: 2009-10

Finnancing Entity: SEOM - Spanish Society of Medical Oncology

Principal Investigator: Ramón Salazar

Description: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers in developed countries. The treatment in early stages is based on radical surgery of the injury. Patients with completely resected disease have a survival at 5 years between 60-90% depending on tumor stage.

The use of chemotherapy (CT) complementary (5-fluorouracil + / - oxaliplatin) in patients with local surgery is the standard treatment for patients with nodal involvement (stage III) to increase both disease-free survival as overall survival. In stage II, the use of adjuvant chemotherapy is more controversial suggesting some benefit in certain patients based on clinicopathologic prognostic factors not prospectively validated.

Knowledge of the molecular biology of carcinogenesis of CRC to determine candidate molecular prognostic factors, highlightning the microsatellite instability and loss of heterozygosity of 18q. Recently, also is gaining interest the study of stroma in the evolution of different tumor strains, including the CRC.

The aim of this work is, in the number of patients undergoing stage II colon cancer, to analyze the clinicopathologic variables commonly used as prognostic factors and to determine the incidence of microsatellite instability and BRAF gene mutations and the percentage tumor-stroma in this series and establish its relationship to prognosis. Later proceed to the validation of these factors in a prospective series.