Molecular and genetic stratification in surgical oncology

Background New technologies facilitate increasingly accurate subclassification of individual tumors based on molecular and genetic characteristics. Objectives Status, potential, and concepts of molecular and genetic stratification in surgical oncology are reviewed on the basis of currently available scientific evidence. Materials and methods Summary and evaluation of the recent literature according to a PubMed database search applying the following keywords: precision surgery, molecular stratification, colorectal liver metastases, gastric cancer, pancreatic cancer. Results and conclusions Knowledge on molecular characteristics of specific tumor entities continues to expand rapidly and enables the classification of individual tumors into specific and therapy-relevant molecular subtypes. However, the stratification of individual patients based on molecular parameters is currently rarely used for surgical decision-making in the treatment of gastrointestinal tumors. To offer each patient the best possible treatment option, molecular and genetic tumor characteristics should be integrated into therapeutic decisions in surgical oncology. Prospective studies are necessary to better utilize molecular and genetic data profiles for the estimation of prognosis after surgical tumor resection.