The path toward prognostication and prediction in stage Ⅱ colon cancer

Currently, there are several newer biomarkers that may be clinically useful in colon cancer. This paper focuses on a few of these biomarkers, namely microsatellite instability, loss of heterozygosity at chromosome 18q （LOH18q） and multi-gene assays, and discusses the clinical evidence behind their predictive or prognostic abilities. The results show that although there have been several newer prognostic factors identified, such as LOH18q and multi-gene assays, none of these factors can predict benefit from treatment. Therefore, ongoing prospective clinical trials are still needed to further assess the role and optimal use of these tests.