Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2016. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Oncol. Nov 15, 2016; 8(11): 772-785
Published online Nov 15, 2016. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v8.i11.772
Molecular predictive markers in tumors of the gastrointestinal tract
Eirini Papadopoulou, Vasiliki Metaxa-Mariatou, Georgios Tsaousis, Nikolaos Tsoulos, Angeliki Tsirigoti, Chrisoula Efstathiadou, Angela Apessos, Konstantinos Agiannitopoulos, Georgia Pepe, Eugenia Bourkoula, George Nasioulas
Eirini Papadopoulou, Vasiliki Metaxa-Mariatou, Georgios Tsaousis, Nikolaos Tsoulos, Angeliki Tsirigoti, Chrisoula Efstathiadou, Angela Apessos, Konstantinos Agiannitopoulos, Georgia Pepe, Eugenia Bourkoula, George Nasioulas, Department of Molecular Biology, GeneKor Medical S.A., 15344 Gerakas, Greece
Author contributions: All authors equally contributed to this paper with conception and design of the study, literature review and analysis, drafting and critical revision and editing, and final approval of the final version.
Conflict-of-interest statement: No potential conflicts of interest. No financial support.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: George Nasioulas, PhD, Department of Molecular Biology, GeneKor Medical S.A., 52 Spaton Ave, 15344 Gerakas, Greece. gnasioulas@genekor.com
Telephone: +30-210-6032138 Fax: +30-210-6032148
Received: March 29, 2016
Peer-review started: April 1, 2016
First decision: June 11, 2016
Revised: August 3, 2016
Accepted: August 30, 2016
Article in press: August 31, 2016
Published online: November 15, 2016
Processing time: 230 Days and 13.8 Hours
Abstract

Gastrointestinal malignancies are among the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Like all human malignancies they are characterized by accumulation of mutations which lead to inactivation of tumor suppressor genes or activation of oncogenes. Advances in Molecular Biology techniques have allowed for more accurate analysis of tumors’ genetic profiling using new breakthrough technologies such as next generation sequencing (NGS), leading to the development of targeted therapeutical approaches based upon biomarker-selection. During the last 10 years tremendous advances in the development of targeted therapies for patients with advanced cancer have been made, thus various targeted agents, associated with predictive biomarkers, have been developed or are in development for the treatment of patients with gastrointestinal cancer patients. This review summarizes the advances in the field of molecular biomarkers in tumors of the gastrointestinal tract, with focus on the available NGS platforms that enable comprehensive tumor molecular profile analysis.

Keywords: Predictive biomarkers; Targeted therapy; Next generation sequencing; Gastrointestinal tract; Somatic mutations; Liquid biopsy

Core tip: Gastrointestinal cancers are among the leading causes of cancer morbidity and mortality worldwide. So far, various targeted agents associated with predictive biomarkers are available or are under development for the selection of treatment in patients with gastrointestinal cancer. Advances in high-throughput technologies such as next generation sequencing and the use of noninvasive materials for tumor characterization, such as liquid biopsies, will facilitate tumor molecular profiling and lead to the establishment of further targeted treatment therapies.