New method of clustering colorectal cancer patients using differential presence of exons (DPE) sequencing.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a heterogeneous disease that occurs in the colon and the rectum, parts of the gastrointestinal system [1]. CRC is the third leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide [2]. The incidence and mortality of CRC is expected to increase significantly in the future, with more than 2.2 million new cases and 1.1 million deaths expected by 2030 [3]. Metastasis is the leading cause of death in CRC patients, especially liver metastasis. According to previous studies, about 25% of CRC cases are clinically diagnosed with liver metastases in early stages, and about 50% of CRC patients experience symptoms of liver metastases throughout the course of the disease [4–6]. Differential presence of exons (DPE) by nextgeneration sequencing (NGS) is an innovative method to analyze the complete exome sequence and can be used as a stratification and predictive tool in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) [7, 8]. CRC is one of the most common neoplasms worldwide, and often presents at advanced stages, making it difficult to treat and decreasing survival rates [9].