Towards a molecular classification of colorectal cancer

Advancements in molecular biology have revolutionized the identification and characterization of bacteria, with multiple methods leveraging DNA sequencing for enhanced precision. As sequencing technologies improve and costs decline, these approaches are increasingly used in clinical, environmental, and evolutionary studies.Multilocus Sequence Typing (MLST) examines several housekeeping genes, essential chromosomal genes encoding cellular functions, to distinguish strains. Approximately...

Tumor progression is a phenomenon where the pre-formed tumor acquires successive mutations to become clinically more aggressive and malignant. In the 1950s, Foulds first described the stepwise progression of cancer cells through successive stages.
Colon cancer is one of the best-documented examples of tumor progression. Early mutation in the APC gene in colon cells causes a small growth on the colon wall called a polyp. With time, this polyp grows into a benign, pre-cancerous tumor. Further...

Epithelial tissues are classified according to the shape of the cells and the number of cell layers formed. Cell shapes can be squamous (flattened and thin), cuboidal (square-like, as wide as it is tall), or columnar (rectangular, taller than it is wide). Additionally, the nucleus shape helps identify the type of epithelial cells. Squamous cells have flattened disc-shaped nuclei, cuboidal cells have spherical nuclei, and columnar cells have elongated nuclei.
Based on the number of cell layers,...