MOLECULAR ADVANCES IN THE ETIOLOGY AND TREATMENT OF COLORECTAL-CANCER

The diagnosis and treatment of colorectal cancer remains a formidable health care problem, Colorectal cancer is the second most frequently d iagnosed cancer in both men and women in Western countries and account s for over 55,000 deaths annually in the United States alone, Cancer o f the colon and rectum is eminently curable by surgical resection if i dentified early; however, despite our best efforts, patient survival f rom this disease has changed little over the past 50 years. With the a dvent of molecular and genetic techniques, a number of novel discoveri es have been made in the last decade which have greatly expanded our u nderstanding of the etiology and cellular mechanisms contributing to t he development and subsequent progression of colorectal cancer, This r eview summarizes the recent molecular advances in the understanding of both familial (HNPCC and FAP) and sporadic colorectal cancers, The nu merous scientific advances described in this review offer the promise of the development of novel chemotherapeutic agents, more accurate pro gnostic indicators and better screening techniques. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd.