Molecular subtypes of colorectal cancer: An emerging therapeutic opportunity for personalized medicine

Molecular subtypes-based therapies offer new potential framework for desired and precise outcome in clinical settings. Current treatment strategies in colorectal cancer are largely 'one drug fit all' model for patients that display same pathological conditions. However, CRC is a very heterogenous set of malignancy that does not support for above criteria. Each subtype displays different pathological and genetic signatures. Based on these features, therapeutic stratification for individual patients may be designed, which may ultimately lead to improved therapeutic out-comes. In this comprehensive review, we have attempted to briefly outline major CRC pathways. A detailed overview of molecular subtypes and their clinical significance has been discussed. Pre-sent and future methods, governing CRC subtyping in the era of personalized therapy with a special emphasis on CMS subtypes of CRC has been reviewed. Together, discovery and validation of new CRC patient stratification methods, screening for novel therapeutic targets, and enhanced diag-nosis of CRC may improve the treatment outcome. Copyright (C) 2019, Chongqing Medical University. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

Molecular subtypes-based therapies provide a new potential framework for precise outcomes in clinical settings, as colorectal cancer is a highly heterogeneous malignancy with different pathological and genetic signatures in each subtype. Designing therapeutic stratification based on these features may lead to improved treatment outcomes.