RESUMEN
Colorectal cancer is a major cause of cancer-related death worldwide and is correlated with genetic and epigenetic alterations in the colonic epithelium. Genetic changes play a major role in the pathophysiology of colorectal cancer through the development of gene mutations, but recent research has shown an important role for epigenetic alterations. In this review, we try to describe the current knowledge about epigenetic alterations, including DNA methylation and histone modifications, as well as the role of non-coding RNAs as epigenetic regulators and the prognostic and predictive biomarkers in metastatic colorectal disease that can allow increases in the effectiveness of treatments. Additionally, the intestinal microbiota's composition can be an important biomarker for the response to strategies based on the immunotherapy of CRC. The identification of biomarkers in mCRC can be enhanced by developing artificial intelligence programs. We present the actual models that implement AI technology as a bridge connecting ncRNAs with tumors and conducted some experiments to improve the quality of the model used as well as the speed of the model that provides answers to users. In order to carry out this task, we implemented six algorithms: the naive Bayes classifier, the random forest classifier, the decision tree classifier, gradient boosted trees, logistic regression and SVM.
RESUMEN
AIM: The need for predictive and prognostic biomarkers in colorectal carcinoma (CRC) brought us to an era where the use of artificial intelligence (AI) models is increasing. We investigated the expression of Claudin-7, a tight junction component, which plays a crucial role in maintaining the integrity of normal epithelial mucosa, and its potential prognostic role in advanced CRCs, by drawing a parallel between statistical and AI algorithms. METHODS: Claudin-7 immunohistochemical expression was evaluated in the tumor core and invasion front of CRCs from 84 patients and correlated with clinicopathological parameters and survival. The results were compared with those obtained by using various AI algorithms. RESULTS: the Kaplan-Meier univariate survival analysis showed a significant correlation between survival and Claudin-7 intensity in the invasive front (p = 0.00), a higher expression being associated with a worse prognosis, while Claudin-7 intensity in the tumor core had no impact on survival. In contrast, AI models could not predict the same outcome on survival. CONCLUSION: The study showed through statistical means that the immunohistochemical overexpression of Claudin-7 in the tumor invasive front may represent a poor prognostic factor in advanced stages of CRCs, contrary to AI models which could not predict the same outcome, probably because of the small number of patients included in our cohort.
