[Molecular genetics of colorectal cancer and carcinogenesis]

Genetic and environmental aspects play an important role in the development of colorectal cancer. However, the common molecular alteration in both hereditary and sporadic colon cancer is localized in the APC gene. the APC gene maps in the long arm of chromosome 5 and was discovered in patients with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP). The search for the APC gene led to the identification of restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) in FAP patients. Using these RFLPs in relatives of FAP patients it is possible to make the presymptomatic and prenatal diagnosis. The FAP syndrome is an interesting model of carcinogenesis in vivo. Thus the different stages involved in the FAP syndrome which include hyperproliferative epithelium, adenoma, adenocarcinoma and metastases, have allowed the analysis of molecular alterations in oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes. The APC gene alteration if not inherited, occurs as the earliest molecular alteration in the development of colorectal cancer whereas structural alterations of the genes myc, ras, p53, MCC and DCC are considered to be late events. All these investigations have lead to 1) a better understanding of the ethiology of cancer and 2) early diagnosis of colorectal cancer in both the hereditary and sporadic forms of the disease.