Gene Signature Predicts Likelihood of Colon Cancer Recurrence

Cancer researchers have developed a genomic method that enables them to predict the probability of recurrence of colon cancer tumors and to select chemotherapeutic agents more likely to be successful.

Up to 30% of patients diagnosed with early stage colon cancer will experience recurrences despite initial cure with surgery and chemotherapy. To learn how to prevent colon cancer recurrence, investigators at Duke University (Durham, NC, USA) analyzed gene expression data from 52 samples of early stage colon cancer tumors.

They reported in the December 3, 2008, online edition of the journal Proceedings of the [U.S.] National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) that they had identified a 50-gene signature that effectively distinguished early stage colon cancer patients with a low or high risk of disease recurrence. Samples from two independent validation cohorts of 55 and 73 patients were then screened for the presence of the 50-gene signature. In this small dataset, the investigators were able to predict which tumors were at risk for recurring with 90% accuracy.

Next, the investigators tested potential targeted therapeutic options for patients at high risk for disease recurrence and found a clinically important relationship between sensitivity to celecoxib, LY-294002 (PI3 kinase inhibitor), retinol, and sulindac in colon cancer cell lines expressing the poor prognostic phenotype, which performed better than standard chemotherapy (5-fluorouricil and oxaliplatin).

"This is a perfect example of how science can change the way cancer care is practiced,” said senior author Dr. Anil Potti, assistant professor of medicine at Duke University. "We hope that advances such as this will individualize the treatment plans for patients with colon cancer and improve survival.”

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