Cancer Stem Cell Biomarkers Predictive of Radiotherapy Response in Rectal Cancer: A Systematic Review.

Marzia Mare,Cristina Colarossi,Giorgio Stassi,Alice Turdo,Lorenzo Memeo,Dario Giuffrida,Lorenzo Colarossi,Veronica Veschi

doi:10.3390/genes12101502

Marzia Mare, Cristina Colarossi + Show 6 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/genes12101502

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Journal: Genes	Publication Date: Sep 25, 2021
Citations: 8	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: University of Messina, University of Palermo

Abstract

Background: Rectal cancer (RC) is one of the most commonly diagnosed and particularly challenging tumours to treat due to its location in the pelvis and close proximity to critical genitourinary organs. Radiotherapy (RT) is recognised as a key component of therapeutic strategy to treat RC, promoting the downsizing and downstaging of large RCs in neoadjuvant settings, although its therapeutic effect is limited due to radioresistance. Evidence from experimental and clinical studies indicates that the likelihood of achieving local tumour control by RT depends on the complete eradication of cancer stem cells (CSC), a minority subset of tumour cells with stemness properties. Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted by querying two scientific databases (Pubmed and Scopus). The search was restricted to papers published from 2009 to 2021. Results: After assessing the quality and the risk of bias, a total of 11 studies were selected as they mainly focused on biomarkers predictive of RT-response in CSCs isolated from patients affected by RC. Specifically these studies showed that elevated levels of CD133, CD44, ALDH1, Lgr5 and G9a are associated with RT-resistance and poor prognosis. Conclusions: This review aimed to provide an overview of the current scenario of in vitro and in vivo studies evaluating the biomarkers predictive of RT-response in CSCs derived from RC patients.

Highlights

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most commonly diagnosed malignancy and the second leading cause of cancer death worldwide [1]
One-third of CRCs occur in the rectum, with an incidence of approximately 35% and a median age at diagnosis of 70 years, despite predictions suggesting that this picture will rise in the future [2]
Quality of Articles usingWe theretrieved searching strategy reported in the Material and Methods section

Summary

Introduction

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most commonly diagnosed malignancy and the second leading cause of cancer death worldwide [1]. Due to tumour location in the pelvis and close proximity to critical genitourinary organs, treatment of locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) is challenging [4,5]. Rectal cancer (RC) is one of the most commonly diagnosed and challenging tumours to treat due to its location in the pelvis and close proximity to critical genitourinary organs. Results: After assessing the quality and the risk of bias, a total of 11 studies were selected as they mainly focused on biomarkers predictive of RT-response in CSCs isolated from patients affected by RC. These studies showed that elevated levels of CD133, CD44, ALDH1, Lgr and G9a are associated with RT-resistance and poor prognosis. Conclusions: This review aimed to provide an overview of the current scenario of in vitro and in vivo studies evaluating the biomarkers predictive of RT-response in CSCs derived from RC patients

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