A Systems Model Of Bcl-2 Dependent Apoptosis To Predict Stage Ii Crc Patients Benefiting From Adjuvant Chemotherapy And As A Prognostic Tool For Stage Iii Crc Patients With Increased Risk Of Recurrence.

3584Background: Over the past decades the TNM staging system has remained the best indicator for the clinical outcome of CRC patients, and it is used to stratify patients for adjuvant chemotherapy after surgical resection of the tumor. Currently, adjuvant chemotherapy is not recommended for stage II patients. Previously, we developed a systems model of the BCL2 family of proteins (DR_MOMP) to assess cancer cells’ resistance to induce mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization (MOMP), based on absolute protein levels and the interaction of pro- and anti-apoptotic BCL2 family proteins. Methods: Reverse Phase Protein Arrays (RPPA) were used to determine BAK, BAX, BCL2, BCL(X)L and MCL1 protein levels in primary tumours collected from two distinct cohorts: 1) 138 stage II CRC patients from a completed clinical trial, randomised to adjuvant 5-FU-based chemotherapy or observation only, 2) 128 stage III CRC patients treated with adjuvant 5-FU-based chemotherapy. DR_MOMP was employed to calculate the amount of...