Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012:5:167-71.
doi: 10.2147/CEG.S34725. Epub 2012 Sep 18.

Retrospective analysis of KRAS status in metastatic colorectal cancer patients: a single-center feasibility study

Jonathan Montomoli  1 , Stephen Jacques Hamilton-Dutoit, Trine Frøslev, Aliki Taylor, Rune Erichsen
Affiliations

Retrospective analysis of KRAS status in metastatic colorectal cancer patients: a single-center feasibility study

Jonathan Montomoli et al. Clin Exp Gastroenterol. 2012.

Abstract

Background: The occurrence of KRAS mutations and their association with prognosis in metastatic colorectal cancer patients is not well documented in population-based studies.

Objectives: To examine the feasibility of identifying archived colorectal cancer specimens, and through linkage with nationwide Danish population-based databases to investigate the prevalence of KRAS mutations and their association with colorectal cancer survival.

Methods: We used the Danish Pathology Database to identify the physical location of primary (or in some cases secondary) tumor specimens from selected metastatic colorectal cancer patients referred to our hospital for palliative chemotherapy between November 1, 2008 and September 30, 2009. Routinely stored paraffin tissue blocks were obtained from the pathology archives of the originating hospital. KRAS mutation tumor status was assessed for each patient using the commercialized TheraScreen KRAS Mutation Kit. Using the unique identifier number, we linked the patients to the Danish National Registry of Patients and the Danish Civil Registration System to obtain data on date of first colorectal cancer diagnosis and follow-up status. We estimated prevalence of KRAS mutations and the 1-, 2-, and 5-year survival after colorectal cancer diagnosis using the Kaplan-Meier technique.

Results: We identified 106 metastatic colorectal cancer patients (64% males). All were successfully linked to the registries, and archived tumor-tissue samples were obtained and analyzed in each case. The overall prevalence of KRAS mutations was 55%, and 1-, 2-, and 5-year overall survival after colorectal cancer diagnosis was 91%, 68%, and 25%, respectively.

Conclusion: It is feasible to use Danish population-based registries to obtain archived tissue samples from metastatic colorectal cancer patients, and to estimate prevalence of KRAS mutation and subsequently evaluate the association with colorectal cancer survival.

Keywords: KRAS; colorectal neoplasms; feasibility study; registries; survival.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Ferlay J, Parkin DM, Steliarova-Foucher E. Estimates of cancer incidence and mortality in Europe in 2008. Eur J Cancer. 2010;46(4):765–781. - PubMed
    1. Henry KA, Niu X, Boscoe FP. Geographic disparities in colorectal cancer survival. Int J Health Geogr. 2009;8:48. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Genovesi D, Cefaro GA, Vinciguerra A, et al. Retrospective long-term results and prognostic factors of postoperative treatment for UICC stages II and III rectal cancer. Tumori. 2009;95(6):675–682. - PubMed
    1. Cunningham D, Humblet Y, Siena S, et al. Cetuximab monotherapy and cetuximab plus irinotecan in irinotecan-refractory metastatic colorectal cancer. N Engl J Med. 2004;351(4):337–345. - PubMed
    1. Deschoolmeester V, Baay M, Specenier P, Lardon F, Vermorken JB. A review of the most promising biomarkers in colorectal cancer: one step closer to targeted therapy. Oncologist. 2010;15(7):699–731. - PMC - PubMed