Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death in Japan. Surgical resection is the only curative option for localized disease. However, undetectable micrometastases remaining after curative surgery may cause disease recurrence. Adjuvant chemotherapy aims to eradicate these micrometastases to improve the cure rate. Unfortunately, few reliable prognostic and predictive markers are available that identify patients at high risk for CRC during early-stage disease. However, promising biomarkers may become available in the near future. Such biomarkers provide information for stratifying a patient's risk and for selecting the optimal treatment. Here, we provide an overview of current relevant prognostic and predictive biomarkers applicable to adjuvant treatment of early-stage CRC and focus on the future of this field.
Keywords: adjuvant chemotherapy; colorectal cancer; precision medicine; predictive marker; prognostic marker.
© 2020 The Authors. Annals of Gastroenterological Surgery published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of The Japanese Society of Gastroenterology.