Colorectal Adenocarcinoma

P=N/A, N=71, Terminated, Istituto Oncologico Veneto IRCCS | Active, not recruiting --> Terminated; problems encountered during the patient recruitment phase which led to the pre-established recruitment objectives not being met.

Rectal cancer recurrence remains a major therapeutic challenge, particularly in patients unresponsive to conventional regimens. While previous studies have demonstrated limited benefit of immunotherapy in this tumor subtype, the present findings suggest an emerging therapeutic opportunity that warrants prospective evaluation to confirm efficacy, explore the mechanistic basis, and identify biomarkers predictive of durable response beyond the absence of liver metastases. More effective combinatorial regimens like zanzalintinib and atezolizumb (STELLAR-303) trial, as well as newer generation of CTLA-4 inhibitors like botensilimab, vilastobart, and muzastotug are showing more promise for patients with MSS colorectal cancers in particular who do not have liver metastases (NLM).

Accurate assessment of lymphatic metastasis risk in rectal cancer is crucial for clinical decision-making and personalized treatment optimization. Diffusion kurtosis imaging-derived parameters and habitat radiomic features can quantify and characterize intratumoral heterogeneity. The combined model provides higher predictive performance for LVI and LNM in rectal cancer.

CDX2 loss is a robust prognostic indicator in CRC, particularly when combined with pT4 stage, highlighting its potential for risk stratification and treatment planning. Larger, prospective studies are needed to standardize CDX2 assessment and validate its clinical utility in colorectal adenocarcinoma.

PDE2A and CKMT2 were identified as critical metabolic biomarkers associated with distinct CRC subtypes and TME compositions. These findings highlight the intricate relationship between metabolic reprogramming, the tumor microenvironment, and tumor heterogeneity, providing insights into CRC molecular subtypes and their prognostic significance.

Final pathology revealed a complete pathological response (cPR) with no evidence of residual malignancy. This case highlights the potential for pembrolizumab to induce a cPR in dMMR colorectal cancer despite the absence of radiographic regression.

Our findings explore a novel EIF4A3-SELENOF regulatory axis in colorectal cancer. SELENOF acquires conditional prognostic significance only in the context of elevated EIF4A3, highlighting the importance of molecular interaction specificity in biomarker discovery.

P2, N=84, Active, not recruiting, National Cancer Institute (NCI) | Trial completion date: Feb 2026 --> Sep 2026 | Trial primary completion date: Feb 2026 --> Sep 2026

P1/2, N=162, Recruiting, Association Gercor | Not yet recruiting --> Recruiting

Patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) who have progressed on fluoropyrimidines, oxaliplatin, irinotecan, anti-angiogenic agents, and anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) therapies have limited treatment options and poor prognosis, with a median overall survival (mOS) of ∼6 months on single-agent regorafenib or trifluridine/tipiracil. Tumor assessments occur every 8 weeks; follow-up continues for up to 18 months after enrolment. Optional translational research includes tumor, blood, and stool sampling to explore biomarkers of response and resistance.

Cutaneous metastases from colorectal cancer show heterogeneous and sometimes rare presentations, including herpetiform and pseudotumoral patterns. Vulvar involvement is exceptionally uncommon therefore prompt recognition and histopathological confirmation are essential in patients with persistent or atypical lesions to avoid misdiagnosis and allow timely management.

Concurrently, Theranekron® induced transcriptional changes associated with mitochondrial and SMAD-dependent apoptotic pathways. Theranekron® acts as a cell-context-specific modulator, simultaneously regulating PI3K/AKT/PDK1, NF-κB and SMAD pathways to restore ECM integrity and modulate apoptotic signaling pathways in Caco-2 CRC cells, suggesting its potential as a multi-target experimental therapeutic candidate in in vitro CRC models.