Dissecting the Biology of Early-onset Colorectal Cancer
- Conditions
- Colon Cancer
- Registration Number
- NCT05916443
- Brief Summary
Contrarily to late-onset (LO) colorectal cancer (CRC), early-onset (EO) CRC incidence is increasingly growing. Several factors, such as obesity, chronic inflammation, and intestinal dysbiosis, can increase the general risk of CRC. However, little is known about the biology of EO-CRC. To evaluate whether such selective rise in the incidence of EO-CRC patients mirrors a distinct transcriptomic profile, the investigators will first dissect EO-CRC's transcriptomic landscape.
Then, the investigators will investigate the colorectal cancer stem cell (CSC) compartment by in vitro functional assays and RNA-seq analysis. Because our preliminary data indicate an increased aggressiveness of the tumor microenvironment (TME) in EO-CRC,the investigators propose to investigate the CSC niche and the interaction with the TME to dissect the molecular and cellular pathways occurring in EO-CRC.
A cohort of 30 EO-CRC patients (\<50 years old) will be enrolled and fully characterized. About 10 EO-CRC-derived CSCs in the form of organoids and spheroids will be generated. Since the relevant differences between CR-CSCs isolated from EO-CRC vs LO-CRC patients are still unknown, the investigators will gain information about their specific features such as clonogenic activity, tumorigenic/invasive capacity, and about differences in the mechanisms regulating their cross-talk with TME components.
- Detailed Description
Not available
Recruitment & Eligibility
- Status
- NOT_YET_RECRUITING
- Sex
- All
- Target Recruitment
- 30
- age > 18 and < 50 years ;
- Written informed consent
- Non-availability of informed consent.
Study & Design
- Study Type
- OBSERVATIONAL
- Study Design
- Not specified
- Primary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Isolation and characterization of EO-CRC-derived CSCs 2 years Identification of EO-CRC-derived CSCs by cytofluorimetry and immunofluorescence analyses (Percentage of cells positive for CD133, CD24, CD44 and CD44v6 expression).
Identification of EO-CRC specific signatures and pathways 2 years RNAseq data analysis of differentially expressed genes in EO-CRC-derived CSCs compared with LO-CRC-derived CSCs.
Identification of obesity-associated adipokines in EO-CRC obese patients 2 years Elisa/Luminex assay evaluation of obesity-associated adipokines concentration
- Secondary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method