Translational Research in Colorectal Cancer: Current Status and Future Perspectives of Multimodal Treatment Approach
1“San Matteo degli Infermi” Hospital, Spoleto, Italy
2Università della Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, Naples, Italy
3Imperial College London, London, UK
4Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth, UK
5University Hospital La Fe, Valencia, Spain
Translational Research in Colorectal Cancer: Current Status and Future Perspectives of Multimodal Treatment Approach
Description
Research in the last decade has resulted in numerous advances in our understanding of the underlying mechanisms of colorectal malignancy and progression. The need for colorectal cancer treatments to account for these complex biological, genetic, and epigenetic factors is now widely accepted and most treatment guidelines account for these variables.
Furthermore, one of the main milestones in the treatment of colorectal cancer, which has overall resulted in the five-year survival improvement, is the multimodal treatment approach: it imposes the close interdisciplinary cooperation between colorectal surgeons, oncologists, radiologists, and radiotherapists.
Therefore, we invite researchers to contribute to this special issue with high-quality original papers, as well as review articles, focusing on current status and future perspectives of multimodal treatment approach in the field of colorectal cancer.
Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:
- Molecular biology and genetic and epigenetic factors which could help in selecting patients for treatment and predicting prognosis
- Noninvasive molecular biomarkers for predicting and monitoring response to treatment
- Translational and clinical trials focused on novel treatment alternatives
- Systematic reviews (if appropriate) summarizing the available data from the literature
- Multidisciplinary management of colorectal cancer, including locally advanced and recurrent malignancies and synchronous and metachronous metastatic diseases: topics can range from new minimally invasive approaches (e.g., transanal TME, robotic surgery) to surgical debulking and intraperitoneal chemotherapy, targeted therapy, neoadjuvant regimens, and experimental treatments
- Evaluation of efficacy, side effects, and cost-effectiveness of the procedures
- Special consideration given to studies focused on patient-reported outcome measures and health-related quality of life in the settings of advanced cancers, treatment counseling, and genetic and biomolecular testing for colorectal malignancies