©The Author(s) 2016. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Oncol. Aug 15, 2016; 8(8): 583-591
Published online Aug 15, 2016. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v8.i8.583
Published online Aug 15, 2016. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v8.i8.583
Apoptotic pathways as a therapeutic target for colorectal cancer treatment
Aman M Abraha, Ezra B Ketema, Department of Medical Biochemistry, College of Health Sciences, Mekelle University, Mekelle 1871, Ethiopia
Author contributions: Abraha AM and Ketema EB contributed equally to this work; both authors wrote, read, revised and approved the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Authors declare that there is no conflict of interests for this article.
Correspondence to: Ezra B Ketema, MSc, Department of Medical Biochemistry, College of Health Sciences, Mekelle University, Mekelle 1871, Ethiopia. aga.bely@gmail.com
Telephone: +251-912-912586 Fax: +251-344-416681
Received: February 11, 2016
Peer-review started: February 12, 2016
First decision: March 23, 2016
Revised: April 15, 2016
Accepted: June 14, 2016
Article in press: June 16, 2016
Published online: August 15, 2016
Processing time: 179 Days and 17.3 Hours
Peer-review started: February 12, 2016
First decision: March 23, 2016
Revised: April 15, 2016
Accepted: June 14, 2016
Article in press: June 16, 2016
Published online: August 15, 2016
Processing time: 179 Days and 17.3 Hours
Core Tip
Core tip: Evasion of apoptosis has been established as a prominent hallmark of several human cancers, contributing to both tumor progression and chemo-resistance. In colorectal cancer development, the balance between the rates of cell growth and apoptosis that maintains intestinal epithelial cell homeostasis is impaired progressively. Recent studies indicated that failure of apoptosis may be an important factor in the evolution of colorectal cancer and its poor response to chemotherapy and radiation. We herein discussed the mechanisms of apoptosis, abnormal expression of apoptosis-related genes and future promises of apoptotic pathways as a therapeutic target for colorectal cancer chemoprevention and treatment.