a State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, National Clinical Research Center for Digestive Diseases, and Xijing Hospital of Digestive Diseases , Air Force Military Medical University , Xi'an , China.
Expert Rev Mol Diagn. 2019 Apr;19(4):313-324. doi: 10.1080/14737159.2019.1592679. Epub 2019 Mar 25.
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common malignant tumors worldwide and contributes significantly to cancer-related deaths. Since CRC is largely asymptomatic until alarm features develop to advanced stages, the incidence and mortality rate of CRC is relatively high and increases year by year. Areas covered: This review mainly summarizes the recent advances of genetic, epigenetic, and proteomic molecular markers that may be used to predict the prognosis of CRC. Moreover, we made an introduction to immune biomarkers and emerging microbial biomarkers. We also discussed the recent movement of molecular pathological epidemiology (MPE) in the context of prognostic biomarkers. Finally, we discussed the pros and cons of various biomarkers for improving prognostic judgment. Expert opinion: A great number of molecular targets have been identified as prognostic markers for CRC. However, because of some limitations, the efficiency of these biomarkers is restricted in clinical application. Combining a panel of several approaches may present a promising alternative tool for clinical practice. Further large-scale clinical trials are required to validate the prognostic value of these biomarkers in clinical use.
结直肠癌（CRC）是全球最常见的恶性肿瘤之一，也是导致癌症相关死亡的主要原因之一。由于 CRC 在出现警报特征进展为晚期之前大多无症状，因此 CRC 的发病率和死亡率相对较高，并呈逐年上升趋势。
本篇综述主要总结了遗传、表观遗传和蛋白质组学分子标志物在预测 CRC 预后方面的最新进展。此外，我们还介绍了免疫生物标志物和新兴的微生物生物标志物。我们还讨论了分子病理流行病学（MPE）在预后生物标志物方面的最新进展。最后，我们讨论了各种生物标志物在改善预后判断方面的优缺点。
已经确定了大量的分子靶标作为 CRC 的预后标志物。然而，由于一些限制，这些生物标志物的效率在临床应用中受到限制。结合一系列方法可能是临床实践中一种很有前途的替代工具。需要进一步进行大规模的临床试验来验证这些生物标志物在临床应用中的预后价值。
