colorectal cancer

Byaibio

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a heterogeneous gastrointestinal malignancy and a major focus of early detection, minimal residual disease monitoring, and treatment guidance through liquid biopsy and integrated multiomics approaches. Recent studies emphasize immune-phenotype stratification, molecular profiling, and single-cell technologies to refine prognosis and identify biomarkers, including mismatch repair status and immune checkpoint pathways such as PD-1/PD-L1 and CTLA-4. The disease is also being dissected through integrative GWAS/eQTL/mQTL analyses, which have highlighted causal susceptibility genes and noncoding risk variants. Mechanistically, CRC progression and therapy resistance involve stromal-immune crosstalk, microbiota-derived signals, exosomal markers like B7-H3, and immune evasion drivers such as DDR1. Therapeutic research spans checkpoint blockade, WNT-signaling inhibition, microbiota modulation, nanodecoys, polymeric RNA scaffolds, and preclinical compounds including homoisoflavanone and TiaoPi AnChang Decoction candidates. Overall, the literature shows CRC as a disease where biomarker-driven precision oncology is rapidly expanding across diagnosis, prognosis, and immunotherapy response prediction.

Early detection, monitoring, and biomarker discovery

  • Integrated multiomics liquid biopsy is being developed for early detection, longitudinal monitoring, and biomarker discovery in liquid biopsy-guided CRC care. (PMID:41930252)
  • A stromal biomarker-based framework was used to identify pMMR/MSS and dMMR/MSI CRC cases with poor outcomes and limited benefit from immunotherapy. (PMID:41980760)
  • B7-H3-enriched exosomes were proposed as diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive biomarkers in CRC. (PMID:41964005)
  • Multi-omics immune classification systems were used to predict immunotherapy responsiveness and suggest treatment-enhancing strategies in CRC. (PMID:41819525)

Immunotherapy, immune evasion, and resistance

  • CRC immune-phenotype stratification linked biomarkers to prognosis and immunotherapy-related prediction. (PMID:41872462)
  • PD-1/PD-L1 and CTLA-4 signaling were reviewed as central immune checkpoint pathways in CRC therapy. (PMID:41925220)
  • Mismatch repair status was evaluated as a clinically relevant biomarker for neoadjuvant immunotherapy response in synchronous colon cancers. (PMID:41936028)
  • DDR1 was identified as a key immune evasion driver that promotes IL-33-mediated M2-like macrophage polarization and poor prognosis. (PMID:41962054)
  • Elevated serum glycocholic acid was shown to remodel the tumor microenvironment and potentiate resistance to checkpoint therapy. (PMID:41935049)

Microbiota and stromal-immune regulation

  • Gut microbiota was discussed as a determinant of immune checkpoint inhibitor response in CRC. (PMID:41981741)
  • faecalibacterium prausnitzii abundance and fpPRPS activity were associated with improved survival and immunotherapy response in patient cohorts and mouse models. (PMID:41998161)
  • Phase separation was proposed as a strategy to disrupt the stromal-immune axis in CRC. (PMID:41975457)
  • A biomimetic nanodecoy approach was reported to remodel the mechano-immune microenvironment and enhance checkpoint blockade. (PMID:42002768)

Molecular profiling, genetics, and subtype biology

  • Integrative GWAS, eQTL, and mQTL analyses identified causal risk genes and noncoding SNPs influencing CRC susceptibility. (PMID:41930642)
  • FUT9 and MS4A3 were identified as immune-phenotype and prognosis biomarkers in CRC. (PMID:41872462)
  • HMGB3 was reported as aberrantly upregulated in human malignancies, including CRC. (PMID:41930588)
  • Pyroptosis- and hypoxia-related molecular subtypes, along with a prognostic signature, were characterized in CRC. (PMID:42018081)

Therapeutic development and preclinical models

  • Homoisoflavanone delayed CRC progression by inducing DNA damage, mitochondrial apoptosis, and parthanatos-like cell death in vitro and in xenografts. (PMID:41603109)
  • Polymeric RNA scaffolds eliminated tumors in a syngeneic mouse CRC model. (PMID:41978258)
  • TMEM87A ablation suppressed CRC progression in vivo, highlighting a new therapeutic vulnerability. (PMID:42014864)
  • Anti-PD-1 combined with SHA68 showed antitumor effects in mouse models of CRC metastasis. (PMID:42029557)
  • TiaoPi AnChang Decoction-derived candidates and compound 106 were reported as preclinical anti-CRC leads. (PMID:41864092; PMID:41833273)