The measurement and modification of hypoxia in colorectal cancer: overlooked but not forgotten
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Published version
Author(s)
Fletcher, Edward
Thompson, Alexander
Ashrafian, hutan
Darzi, ara
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Tumour hypoxia is the inevitable consequence of a tumour’s rapid growth and disorganised, inefficient vasculature. The compensatory mechanisms employed by tumours, and indeed the absence of oxygen itself, hinder the ability of all treatment modalities. The clinical consequence is poorer overall survival, disease-free survival, and locoregional control. Recognising this, clinicians have been attenuating the effect of hypoxia, primarily with hypoxic modification or with hypoxia activated pro-drugs, and notable success has been demonstrated. However, in the case of colorectal cancer (CRC), there is a general paucity of knowledge and evidence surrounding the measurement and modification of hypoxia, and this is possibly due to the comparative inaccessibility of such tumours. We specifically review the role of hypoxia in CRC, and focus on: the current evidence for the existence of hypoxia in CRC, the majority of which originates from indirect positron emission topography (PET) imaging with hypoxia selective radiotracers; the evidence correlating CRC hypoxia with poorer oncological outcome, which is largely based on the measurement of Hypoxia Inducible Factor (HIF) in correlation with clinical outcome; the evidence of hypoxic modification in CRC, of which no direct evidence exists, but is reflected in a number of indirect markers; the prognostic and monitoring implications of accurate CRC hypoxia quantification and its potential in the field of precision oncology; and the present and future imaging tools and technologies being developed for the measurement of CRC hypoxia, including the use of blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) MRI imaging and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy.
Date Issued
2022-08-25
Date Acceptance
2022-07-21
Citation
Gastroenterology Report, 2022, 10, pp.1-13
ISSN
2052-0034
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Start Page
1
End Page
13
Journal / Book Title
Gastroenterology Report
Volume
10
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press and Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/),
which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/),
which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
License URL
Sponsor
National Institute of Health Research
Subjects
Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
hypoxia
colorectal neoplasm
prognostication
neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy
SQUAMOUS-CELL CARCINOMA
GROWTH-FACTOR RECEPTOR
ADVANCED RECTAL-CANCER
TUMOR OXYGENATION
NEOADJUVANT CHEMORADIOTHERAPY
POSITRON-EMISSION
VASCULAR ARCHITECTURE
COMPLETE RESPONSE
HEMOGLOBIN LEVELS
INTRAVENOUS IRON
colorectal neoplasm
hypoxia
neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy
prognostication
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2022-08-25