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Review
. 2021 Nov 19;11(11):1722.
doi: 10.3390/biom11111722.

Novel Methylation Biomarkers for Colorectal Cancer Prognosis

Alvaro Gutierrez  1 , Hannah Demond  1 , Priscilla Brebi  1 , Carmen Gloria Ili  1
Affiliations
Review

Novel Methylation Biomarkers for Colorectal Cancer Prognosis

Alvaro Gutierrez et al. Biomolecules. .

Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) comprises the third most common cancer worldwide and the second regarding number of deaths. In order to make a correct and early diagnosis to predict metastasis formation, biomarkers are an important tool. Although there are multiple signaling pathways associated with cancer progression, the most recognized are the MAPK pathway, p53 pathway, and TGF-β pathway. These pathways regulate many important functions in the cell, such as cell cycle regulation, proliferation, differentiation, and metastasis formation, among others. Changes in expression in genes belonging to these pathways are drivers of carcinogenesis. Often these expression changes are caused by mutations; however, epigenetic changes, such as DNA methylation, are increasingly acknowledged to play a role in the deregulation of oncogenic genes. This makes DNA methylation changes an interesting biomarkers in cancer. Among the newly identified biomarkers for CRC metastasis INHBB, SMOC2, BDNF, and TBRG4 are included, all of which are highly deregulated by methylation and closely associated with metastasis. The identification of such biomarkers in metastasis of CRC may allow a better treatment and early identification of cancer formation in order to perform better diagnostics and improve the life expectancy.

Keywords: biomarkers; colorectal cancer; methylation; prognosis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the result.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram depicting the process of the identification, inclusion and exclusion criteria of selected studies.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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