Genomic profiling of sporadic liver metastatic colorectal cancer

Sporadic colorectal cancer (sCRC) is the third leading cause of cancer death in the Western world. Approximately, a quarter of sCRC patients present metastatic dissemination at the moment of diagnosis, the liver being the most frequently affected organ. Additionally, this group of CRC patients is characterized by a worse prognosis. In the last decades, significant technological developments for genome analysis have fostered the identification and characterization of genetic alterations involved in the pathogenesis of sCRC. However, genetic alterations involved in the metastatic process through which tumor cells are able to colonize other tissues with a different microenvironment, still remain to be fully identified. Here, we review current knowledge about the most relevant genomic alterations involved in the liver metastatic process of sCRC, including detailed information about the genetic profile of primary colorectal tumors vs. their paired liver metastases.

Automated summary

Sporadic colorectal cancer (sCRC) is the third leading cause of cancer death in the Western world, with approximately a quarter of patients presenting metastatic dissemination at the time of diagnosis. Patients with sCRC generally have a worse prognosis compared to those with primary colorectal tumors, and there are still many genetic alterations involved in the metastatic process that need to be further identified and studied.