Experimental and Clinical Research Center, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Int J Biochem Cell Biol. 2009 Dec;41(12):2356-9. doi: 10.1016/j.biocel.2009.08.001. Epub 2009 Aug 8.
Colon cancer is still the second most frequent malignancy in the Western world. Despite major efforts in diagnosis and treatment it is one of the leading causes of cancer related deaths. The metastatic dissemination of primary tumors is directly linked to patient's survival and accounts for about 90% of all colon cancer deaths. Current clinical predictions on whether colon cancer will metastasize are mainly defined by histopathological staging, describing the tumor spread within a surgical specimen. This review focuses on the need for molecule-based staging as essential prerequisite for individualized diagnosis, prognosis and therapy. Molecular determinants for progression and metastasis of colon cancer are discussed. Moreover, a newly identified molecule playing a decisive role in colon cancer metastasis is highlighted: MACC1. MACC1 acts as a key regulator of the metastasis-inducing HGF/Met pathway, predicts the risk for metastasis in early cancer stages, and represents a novel target to attack metastasis.
结肠癌仍然是西方世界第二常见的恶性肿瘤。尽管在诊断和治疗方面做出了重大努力，但它仍是癌症相关死亡的主要原因之一。原发性肿瘤的转移扩散与患者的生存直接相关，约占所有结肠癌死亡人数的 90%。目前，临床上对结肠癌是否会转移的预测主要是通过描述肿瘤在手术标本内扩散的组织病理学分期来定义的。这篇综述重点介绍了基于分子的分期作为个体化诊断、预后和治疗的必要前提的必要性。讨论了结肠癌进展和转移的分子决定因素。此外，还强调了一种新发现的在结肠癌转移中起决定性作用的分子：MACC1。MACC1 作为促转移的 HGF/Met 通路的关键调节剂，可预测早期癌症阶段转移的风险，是一种攻击转移的新靶标。
