Prof. Dr. Sherif Fakhry Mohamed Abdel Nabi, President of the Egyptian Russian University in Cairo, affirmed that scientific research is an important component of the university’s mission and vision, and that the university’s faculties’ plans and research priorities are linked to the university’s goals for sustainable development. Also, there is a high level of interest in scientific study topics focusing on community services.

In this context, Dr. Abdullah Fathi Radwan, a lecturer in the Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, at the Egyptian Russian University,  , took part in a study of novel indicators that aid in detecting and predicting the risk of developing “CRC” and benign tumors in these organs, in collaboration with each of: “Prof. Dr. Noha Ahmed Al-Baghdadi, Head of the Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Prof. Dr. Olfat Gamil Shaker, Professor of Medical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Cairo University’s Faculty of Medicine, and Dr. Mahmoud Ahmed Senusi, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry at Cairo University’s Faculty of Pharmacy.”

According to the researcher, Dr. Abdullah Fathi Radwan, the research’s aim was to investigate the association of MALAT1 rs3200401 and PVT1 rs13255292 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with the susceptibility of CRC. Furthermore, exploring the relationship of these polymorphisms with the long noncoding RNAs (MALAT1 and PVT1) expression and their target microRNAs (miRNA-101 and miRNA-186), respectively, in CRC. The impact of studied SNPs and the correlation of studied ncRNAs with E-cadherin as an EMT biomarker were also investigated. Furthermore, investigation of the relationships between the studied parameters and the clinicopathological parameters of CRC, as well as their potential in the early diagnosis and prognosis of CRC was done.

As per the researcher, the study was carried out on 280 individuals classified as 140 CRC cases, most of them with adenocarcinoma type, 40 patients with adenomatous polyps (AP), and 100 cancer-free controls.

It is worth noting that this study is the first to assess MALAT1 rs3200401 and PVT1 rs13255292 SNPs in CRC and introduce them as genetic biomarkers of CRC. The study’s findings revealed that the genetic polymorphism “MALAT1 rs3200401” was associated with an increased risk of developing “CRC” while the genetic polymorphism “PVT1 rs13255292” had a protective effect. Furthermore, lncRNAs MALAT1 and PVT1 may act as robust diagnostic and prognostic markers, and miRNA-101 and miRNA-186 may serve as markers with powerful diagnostic and predictive capabilities. Notwithstanding, the results involve MALAT1 rs3200401 and PVT1 rs13255292 as potential genetic markers of CRC predisposition. MALAT1 is an independent predictor and could be of clinical value in CRC diagnosis.

The researcher, Dr. Abdullah Fathi Radwan, stated that the findings of the study were published as an original article in the “International Journal of Molecular Sciences,” which specializes in biochemistry, genetics, and molecular biology, and which is included in the global quantitative tool for ranking and evaluating scientific journals, the “Clarivate Analytics citation index,” with an impact factor of 5.923 and a category rank of “Q1,” which is occupied by the top 25 journals.

Eventually, the researcher recommends that in future research, there is a need for more studies to verify the markers that have been studied as therapeutic targets for colorectal cancer.