Search

Colorectal cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers worldwide. An increasing number of cases around the globe are raising concerns for life quality and survival. Various factors including genetic drivers have been extensively studied regarding the disease risk, progression, and metastasis. However, the signaling mechanisms haven't been studied extensively yet. Various therapeutic methods have been established in combating the disease, and mesenchymal stem cells have come up as a crucial cell-based therapeutic strategy. Mesenchymal stem cells have been regarded as potential targets in various cancer types due to their immune-modulatory functions. They can be isolated from many body tissues including bone marrow, peripheral blood, umbilical cord, and adipose tissue. Exosomes derived from mesenchymal stem cells have been reported to affect the expression of certain proteins associated with colorectal cancer. The current review highlights the potential of mesenchymal stem cells and their derived exosomes in treating cancer by causing cytotoxicity and apoptosis. Further, T-cell mediated modulation of exosomes helps reduce the cellular proliferation in cancer cells.

Objective: There are different clinicopathological features between early and late onset colorectal cancer. We aimed to characterize the histological features of colorectal cancer (CRC) at different age groups in our institution., Methods: Total 232 patients with histologically proven colorectal cancer between ages 13-99 were included. This is retrospective study. Data collected from tumour registry Shifa International Hospital from January 1 st 2018 to December 31 st 2020. Pearson Chi square test was used for significance of categorical variables. P-values less than 0.05 were considered significant., Results: Mean age at diagnosis was 55.49+/-16.43 years. Out of total 232 patients 58.6% were male and 41.3% were females (p value= 0.16). 150 (64.9%) were aged > 50 years and 81 (35.1%) were age < or equal to 50 years (p value = 0.44). Most common histological subtype was adenocarcinoma that was found in 188 (81%) cases. One hundred fifty five (66.8%) patients had Grade-II tumor, 67(28.9%) with Grade-III and 10 (4.3%) with Grade-I tumor. Fifty eight (25%) patients presented with metastatic disease. A significantly higher percentage of patients with signet ring cell cancer presented with a high-grade tumor when compared with patients with adenocarcinoma and mucinous carcinoma (93.7% vs 21.8%, p-value- <0.001%; 93.7% vs 39.2%, p-value <0.001). A significantly higher percentage of patients with mucinous adenocarcinoma and signet ring cell carcinoma presented at age less than 50 as compared to those with adenocarcinoma (60.7%, 56.2% and 30.8% respectively; p-value <0.05)., Conclusion: This study signifies that mucinous and signet ring cell type CRC present at an early age and with a higher proportion of patients with high tumour grade. Early diagnosis is key to help improve outcomes in these patients., (Copyright: © Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences.)