Epithelial Barriers, Microbiota, and Colorectal Cancer

There is an established link between the inflammation process and the genesis of colorectal cancer. A recent study suggests that intestinal microbiota may have a mediatory role between the initial steps of tumorigenesis and the initiation of an immune response that influences clinical outcome. Colorectal cancer is a common cancer that leads to 600,000 deaths globally each year. The progression of colonic polyps from dysplastic adenomas to adenocarcinomas is defined histologically, in part, by invasion of the submucosal tissue through the muscularis mucosae. This progression is mirrored by a recognized series of mutations along a genetic pathway from the initial loss of the adenomatous polyposis coli ( APC ) tumor-suppressor gene to the activation of mutations in genes such as KRAS, PIK3CA, and TP53 . A synthesis of several aspects of the pathogenesis of colorectal cancer — epithelial genetic mutations, mucosal integrity, microbiota, and . . .