Dear Colleagues,

Colorectal cancer (CRC) covers at least 10% of human neoplasms detected each year, representing the third most common cancer. Several recent studies suggest that the CRC incidence rate could increase dramatically in the near future. Pathological staging drives CRC prognosis; the 5-year survival rate is 90% when it is detected early, usually localized only in the bowel, and dramatically decreases to 10% in metastatic CRC.

Colorectal cancer carcinogenesis plays a pivotal role in defining CRC progression and paves the way for “tailored” therapy.

Starting from the adenoma to carcinoma transition, several more detailed findings have enriched our knowledge of CRC pathogenesis, allowing CRC disease’s stratification in different prognostic classes associated with both different molecular subgroups and genomic signatures, making it possible to predict CRC outcome. However, molecular characterization and DNA methylation alone do not appear sufficient to drive further improvements of therapeutic regimens, and additional studies taking into account epigenetic changes and interactions with the tumor microenvironment are needed to identify the best therapeutic approach and the potential role of novel therapies.

It is of urgent necessity to identify early diagnosis biomarkers through the identification of new biological and molecular “signatures” and the integration of morphological and immunophenotypical features able to improve the prognosis and efficacy of the therapeutic response.

This Special Issue will also be dedicated to gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms—a rare and heterogeneous population of tumors whose incidence rate has increased dramatically over the past several years.

We warmly welcome the submission of original research papers and reviews.

Prof. Dr. Massimo Milione
Dr. Federica Morano
Prof. Dr. Matteo Fassan
Guest Editors

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• colorectal cancer
• gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms
• familial/hereditary forms
• surgical pathology
• molecular pathology
• new markers
• microRNAs
• tumor microenvironment
• novel therapies