Colorectal Carcinoma

Colorectal Carcinoma (CRC) is an important contributor to cancer mortality and morbidity. Tow types of CRC can be distinguished: those characterized by microsatellite instability and those that are microsatellite stable but chromosomally unstable. Over the past decades, molecular genetic studies have revealed some critical mutations underlying the pathogenesis of the sporadic and inherited forms of CRC. A relatively limited number of oncogenes and tumor-suppressor genes—most prominently the APC, KRAS, and p53 genes—are mutated in a sizeable fraction of CRCs. The mutations act to dysregulate conserved signaling pathways (MAPK, PI3K, WNT and p53 pathways) that exert effects on critical cell phenotypes, including proliferation and survival