26. 07. 2023
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The Department of Molecular Biology of Cancer is one of our most active departments in terms of publications. Every year, many new studies are published in prestigious and highly impacted journals. Examples of several new publications have recently been published.
The first is the study “A Fecal MicroRNA Signature by Small RNA Sequencing Accurately Distinguishes Colorectal Cancers: Results From a Multicenter Study” (open in a new window), published in the journal Gastroenterology (IF 29,4), in which the following scientists participated: Pavel Vodička, Ludmila Vodičková and Veronika Vymetálková. They collaborated on the study with their former colleagues Alessio Naccarati (open in a new window), a postdoctoral fellow at the IEM CAS for 10 years, and Barbara Pardini (open in a new window), a former IEM PhD student.
In this multicentre study, the results of microRNAs in the stool of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients, patients with polyps in the intestine and individuals without cancer were detailed. The final result revealed a typical and unique combination of microRNAs in patients with cancer and advanced adenoma. This result could contribute to the improvement of non-invasive population testing for CRC.
Another significant publication is the consortium study “A genetic locus within the FMN1/GREM1 gene region interacts with body mass index in colorectal cancer risk” (open in a new window), co-authored by the head of the department Pavel Vodička.
This paper provides a biological perspective on the impact of obesity on CRC risk. The study evaluated potential gene interactions with environmental risk factors – body mass index (BMI) and common single nucleotide polymorphisms. The researchers used data from 36,415 CRC patients and 48,451 controls from three international consortia (CCFR, CORECT and GECCO). Among patients with the CC genotype rs58349661, overweight and obesity were associated with a higher risk of CRC, while no associations were observed across different BMI categories in patients with the TT genotype.
Our postdocs also did well, namely Michal Kroupa, who has a new first-authored publication entitled “The dynamics of telomere length in primary and metastatic colorectal cancer lesions” (open in a new window). The study itself details the dynamics of telomeres during cancer progression. The authors also describe the relationship between metastatic lesion size and telomere length, the effect of non-adjuvant treatment on telomere length, and the association between patient survival and telomere length. The full results of the study, including the authors’ review, can be found on the Pubmed website (open in a new window).