Biomarkers of colorectal cancer: A genome-wide perspective

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers in the world and one of the main causes of death. Although CRC is among the best-studied cancers and our knowledge about CRC biomarkers and carcinogenesis is extensive, there are only a few approved therapies for its treatment, and personalized therapy is far from being achieved. However, the recent advent of the genome-wide techniques, and in particular next-generation sequencing, has notably contributed to our knowledge about CRC genomes. These techniques have allowed not only the identification of new somatic mutations associated with CRC, but also the emergence of novel aspects of CRC genomes previously unanticipated. In this review, we discuss more recent advances in our understanding of CRC genomes, with an emphasis in the contribution of genomics and the development of personalized therapies.