Kristian Pietras
Research team manager
Molecular biology of neuroendocrine tumors: from pathways to biomarkers and targets
Author
Summary, in English
Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) represent a heterogeneous group of diseases with varied natural history and prognosis depending upon the organ of origin and grade of aggressiveness. The most widely used biomarker to determine disease burden and monitor response to treatment is chromogranin A (CgA), but it is far from being the optimal predictive and prognostic biomarker in NETs. Biological understanding and derived treatment options for NETs have changed markedly in recent years. Over the last decade, the genomic landscape of these tumors has been extensively investigated. This has resulted in the discovery of mutations and expression anomalies in genes and pathways such as the PI3K/Akt/mTOR, DAXX/ATRX, and MEN1, which are promising predictive and prognostic biomarkers and future candidates for targeted therapies. Additionally, the study of tumor stroma and environment are one of the most promising fields for discovery of potential new targets and biomarkers.
Department/s
- BioCARE: Biomarkers in Cancer Medicine improving Health Care, Education and Innovation
- Department of Translational Medicine
Publishing year
2014
Language
English
Pages
345-351
Publication/Series
Cancer and Metastasis Reviews
Volume
33
Issue
1
Document type
Journal article review
Publisher
Springer
Topic
- Cancer and Oncology
Keywords
- Neuroendocrine tumors
- Biomarker
- Chromogranin A
Status
Published
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 0167-7659