Related Experiment Video For BRAF
Updated: Nov 15, 2025
Evaluation of Colorectal Cancer Risk and Prevalence by Stool DNA Integrity Detection
Published on: June 8, 2020
Synchronous Colorectal Cancer: Improving Accuracy of Detection and Analyzing Molecular Heterogeneity-The Main Keys
Patricia Simu1,2, Ioan Jung2, Laura Banias2,3
1Department of Radiology and Imaging, 'George Emil Palade' University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Sciences and Technology, 530149 Targu Mures, Romania.
Background:
In patients with synchronous colorectal cancer (SCRC), understanding the underlying molecular behavior of such cases is mandatory for designing individualized therapy. The aim of this paper is to highlight the importance of transdisciplinary evaluation of the pre- and post-operative assessment of patients with SCRCs, from imaging to molecular investigations.
Methods:
Six patients with SCRCs presented with two carcinomas each. In addition to the microsatellite status (MSS), the epithelial mesenchymal transition was checked in each tumor using the biomarkers β-catenin and E-cadherin, same as KRAS and BRAF mutations.
Results:
In two of the patients, the second tumor was missed at endoscopy, but diagnosed by a subsequent computed-tomography-scan (CT-scan). From the six patients, a total of 11 adenocarcinomas (ADKs) and one squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) were analyzed. All the examined carcinomas were BRAF-wildtype microsatellite stable tumors with an epithelial histological subtype. In two of the six cases, KRAS gene status showed discordance between the two synchronous tumors, with mutations in the index tumors and wildtype status in the companion ones.
Conclusions:
Preoperative CT-scans can be useful for detection of synchronous tumors which may be missed by colonoscopy. Where synchronous tumors are identified, therapy should be based on the molecular profile of the indexed tumors.
