Local experts complete first genomic mapping of Chinese patients with colorectal cancer

Local medical experts completed the nation's first genomic mapping of Chinese patients with colorectal cancer, disclosing the features of genomic variations of domestic patients and detecting biomarkers with strong potentials to do precise forecasts of targeted treatment and immunotherapy.

Every year, the number of new cases of colorectal cancer keeps rising due to changes of lifestyle and a wider promotion of screening.

"But the high tolerance to chemotherapy and the high rate of relapse and metastasis are the issue challenging the long survival of Chinese colorectal cancer patients," said Dr Xu Ye, director of the Shanghai Cancer Center and a leading expert in the research, on Tuesday. "About 20 to 25 percent of patients have suffered metastasis before receiving their first diagnosis, and 30 percent of patients in early and middle stages and 65 percent in terminal stage suffer a relapse or a second round of metastasis.

"So looking for individualized targets for colorectal cancer to achieve precise treatment has special meaning to the clinical practice. Though molecular immunotherapy and targeted medication are widely carried out in colorectal cancer diagnosis and treatment, these standards and guidelines are developed based on data from Western patients. There is no identified genome on mutated genes for Chinese patients. So we launched the research through a large-scale multi-gene cohort study for Chinese patients," Xu said.

The study included 869 patients and detected the three most prevalent mutated genes for Chinese patients and found that Chinese patients' genomes on mutated signaling pathways are quite different from Caucasians. Experts also detected several genes which could be responsible for the poor effects of chemotherapy and causes of relapse and metastasis.

"Through combining these biomarkers, doctors can better forecast the outcome of immunotherapy and it is confirmed in the research," Xu said. "With these discoveries, we will be able to select most suitable patients for the most appropriate treatments and provide new hope for precise treatment for Chinese colorectal cancer patients."

The study was published in world-leading journal Gastroenterology.