Biomarkers in Colorectal Cancer: Recent Investigation and Future Prospective

: Colorectalcancer (CRC) is a leading causeof death world wide,despite progress made in detection and management through surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and immunotherapy. Novel therapeutic agents have improved survival in both the adjuvant and advanced disease settings, albeit with an increased risk of toxicityand cost. However, metastatic disease continues to have a poor long-term prognosis and significant challenges remain due to late stage diagnosis and treatment failure. Biomarkersareakeytoolinearlydetection,prognostication,survival,and predicting treatment response. The past three decades have seen advances in genomics and molecular pathology of cancer biomarkers, allowing for greater individualization of therapy with a positive impact on survival outcomes. Clinically useful predictive biomarkers aid clinical decision making, such as the presence of KRAS gene mutations predicting benefit from epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibiting antibodies. However, few biomarkers have been translated into clinical practice highlighting the need for further investigation. We review a range of protein, DNA and RNA-based biomarkers under investigation for diagnostic, predictive, and prognostic properties for CRC. In particular, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNA),have been investigated as biomarkers in a range of cancers including colorectal cancer. Specifically, we evaluate the potential role of lncRNA plasmacytoma variant translocation 1 ( PVT1 ), an oncogene, as a diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic biomarker in colorectal cancer.