[Molecular Pathological Aspects in Visceral Surgery]

New insights gained in the field of molecular medicine have led to fundamental progress in the diagnosis and treatment of tumour patients. Individualised treatment has been essentially facilitated by molecular diagnostics, which, by identifying and interpreting characteristic genetic alterations (biomarkers) in single cells and tissues, provide specific information to confirm the diagnosis and support the treatment of numerous diseases. Particularly with regard to the use of new targeted drugs, which often require the presence or absence of specific target structures or genetic alterations to induce response, the molecular pathological determination of predictive biomarkers plays an increasing role and helps clinicians to decide on optimal therapies for individual patients. The aim of this review is to highlight general aspects of molecular tumour pathology for relevant tumour entities and to present available targeted therapies.