Colorectal cancer screening and diagnosis: omics-based technologies for development of a non-invasive blood-based method.

Gallardo-Gómez, María; De Chiara, Loretta; Álvarez-Chaver, Paula; Cubiella, Joaquin

Introduction: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most important health problems in the Western world. In order to reduce the burden of the disease, two strategies are proposed: screening and prompt detection in symptomatic patients. Although diagnosis and prevention is mainly based on colonoscopy, faecal haemoglobin detection has been widely implemented as a non-invasive strategy. Various studies aiming to discover blood-based biomarkers have recently emerged. Areas covered: The burgeoning omics field provides diverse high-throughput approaches for CRC blood-based biomarker discovery. In this review, we appraise the most robust and commonly used technologies within the fields of genomics, transcriptomics, epigenomics, proteomics and metabolomics, together with their targeted validation approaches. We summarize the transference process from the discovery phase until clinical translation. Finally, we review the best candidate biomarkers and their potential clinical applicability. Expert opinion: Some available biomarkers are promising, especially in the field of epigenomics: DNA methylation and microRNA. Transference requires the joint collaboration of basic researchers, intellectual property experts, technology transfer offices and clinicians. Blood-based biomarkers will be selected not only based on their diagnostic accuracy and cost, but also on their reliability, applicability to clinical analysis laboratories and their acceptance by the population.