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Updated: Jul 19, 2026

Discovery of Driver Genes in Colorectal HT29-derived Cancer Stem-Like Tumorspheres
Published on: July 22, 2020
Developing gene expression signatures of pathway deregulation in tumors
James W Watters1, Christopher J Roberts
1Department of Molecular Profiling, Merck Research Laboratories, West Point, Pennsylvania, USA.
Abstract:
Recent advances in our understanding of cancer biology have led to the development of therapies targeting specific signaling pathways. Molecular targeting promises to improve our ability to predict who will respond by assessing the state of these targeted pathways in patients. However, a single pathway can be deregulated by multiple mechanisms, and for some pathways it may be difficult to assess activation state by analyzing a single oncogene or tumor suppressor. Therefore, developing gene expression signatures of pathway activation status using model systems or human tumor samples may enable a more reliable measurement of pathway activity. This review discusses recent advances in the identification of gene expression-based signatures of pathway deregulation and how this information may lead to improved therapeutic response prediction.
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