Researchers from the Framework Programme 7 Angiopredict project (completed) have just achieved a publication in the 24 May 2018 edition of the prestigious international cancer journal Journal of Clinical Oncology (Impact Factor 24). Several of the organisations and researchers involved in Angiopredict are now involved in the COLOSSUS project, which in many ways carries on the work of Angiopredict and aims to provide new and more effective ways to classify patients with MSS RAS mt mCRC and to develop better treatments for them.
The paper is called “Loss of Chromosome 18q11.2-q12.1 Is Predictive for Survival in Patients With Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Treated With Bevacizumab” and details an analysis of archived tumour samples from patients with colorectal cancer for genetic alterations. Patients with tumours that lost (part of) chromosome 18 had a higher expected survival when treated with Avastin than patients where chromosome 18 was intact. You can read the paper here.
The discovery of a potential biomarker to select who will benefit from the colorectal cancer drug bevacizumab (Avastin) suggests that almost one-third of patients will not respond to treatment with this expensive drug which also has a significant side-effect profile. This is a critical breakthrough in the global effort to move towards a more ‘personalized’ treatment paradigm for colorectal cancer patients.
doi: 10.1200/JCO.2017.77.1782