Colorectal (or bowel) cancer refers to carcinomas arising in the epithelium of the large intestine at any point between the cecal valve and the anus. CRC typically develops through the proliferation of mucosal epithelial cells of the gastrointestinal (GI) wall, eventually forming a polyp or adenoma. As with many other cancers of the GI tract, the vast majority (>95%) are adenocarcinomas.
Ovarian cancer is defined as a group of tumors that originate in the ovaries. Most ovarian cancers are epithelial carcinomas which begin in the tissue surrounding the ovary. Other less common types of ovarian tumors include primary peritoneal, fallopian tube, and malignant germ cell tumors. Ovarian cancer is the fourth most common cancer among women, and is the leading cause of gynecological cancer-related death in women.
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a relatively rare breast cancer subtype. It is characterized by the absence of estrogen and progesterone receptors and does not involve the overexpression of HER2. TNBC is associated with poor prognosis, a high risk of local recurrence, and poor disease-free and cancer-specific survival. It accounts for roughly 14% of breast cancers.
Hormone receptor-positive (HR+) is the most common breast cancer subtype, with approximately 70% of breast cancers presenting with overexpression of estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors, or both (De Placido and Pronzato, 2015). Overexpression of the hormone receptors allows estrogen and progesterone to drive tumor growth and proliferation. Therefore, endocrine therapy remains the standard treatment for advanced patients with HR+/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HER2-) breast cancer.
Amplification of the HER2/neu oncogene and related genetic elements on chromosome 17 increases HER2 expression and accelerates tumorigenesis. The natural disease progression meant that, historically, women with breast cancer who overexpressed HER2 were found to have significantly shorter disease-free survival and overall survival compared with women without HER2 amplification; however, the introduction of trastuzumab in 1998 drastically changed patient outcomes, to the point where HER2+ breast cancer patients now have the longest median survival of all breast cancer subtypes. HER2 is overexpressed in approximately 20% of breast cancers.
Head and neck cancers (HNCs) are defined as any cancer that begins in cells of the oral cavity, pharynx, nose, sinuses, or salivary glands. These cancers are grouped together due to historical similarities in etiology, disease presentation, and manifestation. The vast majority of these cases (90%), collectively referred to as head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs), appear in squamous epithelial cells lining the mucous membranes of these regions. The exception to this is salivary gland cancer, which can appear in any of the salivary glands’ diverse cell types.
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