Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39876058›Full record

ArticleMolecular oncology2025

Molecular and functional profiling unravels targetable vulnerabilities in colorectal cancer.

Efstathios-Iason Vlachavas, Konstantinos Voutetakis, Vivian Kosmidou, Spyridon Tsikalakis, Spyridon Roditis, Konstantinos Pateas, Ryangguk Kim, Kymberleigh Pagel, Stephan Wolf, Gregor Warsow and 6 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Molecular oncology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

16 authors.

Efstathios-Iason VlachavasDivision of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3432-9053
Konstantinos VoutetakisInstitute of Chemical Biology, National Hellenic Research Foundation, Athens, Greece.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7163-7381
Vivian KosmidouInstitute of Chemical Biology, National Hellenic Research Foundation, Athens, Greece.
Spyridon TsikalakisDivision of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany.
Spyridon Roditis3rd Surgical Department G.Gennimatas Hospital, Athens, Greece.
Konstantinos Pateas3rd Surgical Department G.Gennimatas Hospital, Athens, Greece.
Ryangguk KimOak Bioinformatics, LLC, Fairfax, VA, USA.
Kymberleigh PagelSpinSys-Diné, Falls Church, VA, USA.
Stephan WolfHigh-Throughput Sequencing Core Facility, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany.
Gregor WarsowOmics IT and Data Management Core Facility, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany.
Antonia Dimitrakopoulou-StraussClinical Cooperation Unit Nuclear Medicine, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany.
Georgios N Zografos3rd Surgical Department G.Gennimatas Hospital, Athens, Greece.
Alexander PintzasInstitute of Chemical Biology, National Hellenic Research Foundation, Athens, Greece.
Johannes BetgeJunior Clinical Cooperation Unit Translational Gastrointestinal Oncology and Preclinical Models, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
Olga PapadodimaInstitute of Chemical Biology, National Hellenic Research Foundation, Athens, Greece.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3896-4270
Stefan WiemannDivision of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4683-3174

Funding

Helmholtz European Partnering Program 'Athens Comprehensive Cancer Center (ACCC)'
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) patients with microsatellite-stable (MSS) tumors are mostly treated with chemotherapy. Clinical benefits of targeted therapies depend on mutational states and tumor location. Many tumors carry mutations in KRAS proto-oncogene, GTPase (KRAS) or B-Raf proto-oncogene, serine/threonine kinase (BRAF), rendering them more resistant to therapies. We performed whole-exome sequencing and RNA-Sequencing of 28 tumors of the Athens Comprehensive Cancer Center CRC cohort, and molecularly characterized CRC patients based on their microsatellite instability (MSI) status, single-nucleotide variations (SNVs)/copy number alterations (CNAs), and pathway/transcription factor activities at the individual patient level. Variants were classified using a computational score for integrative cancer variant annotation and prioritization. Complementing this with public multi-omics datasets, we identified activation of transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) signaling to be more strongly activated in MSS patients, whereas Janus kinase (JAK)-signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) molecular cascades were activated specifically in MSI tumors. We unraveled mechanisms consistently perturbed in the transcriptional and mutational circuits and identified Runt-related transcription factors (RUNX transcription factors) as putative biomarkers in CRC, given their role in the regulation of pathways involved in tumor progression and immune evasion. Assessing the immunogenicity of CRC tumors in the context of RAS/RAF mutations and MSI/MSS status revealed a critical impact that KRAS mutations have on immunogenicity, particularly in the MSS patient subgroup, with implications for diagnosis and treatment.

Indexed as

Colorectal NeoplasmsAgedDNA Copy Number VariationsExome SequencingFemaleGene Expression Regulation, NeoplasticHumansMaleMicrosatellite InstabilityMiddle AgedMutationProto-Oncogene MasSignal TransductionTransforming Growth Factor betaMAS1 protein, humanProto-Oncogene MasTransforming Growth Factor betaCRCMSI statuspathway/TF activityRAS/RAFSNVs/CNAsWES/RNA‐sequencing

Identifiers

PMID39876058
PMCPMC12161475

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.