Jiahao Zhu , Jie Lian , Haibo Lu

Department of Outpatient Chemotherapy, Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital, Harbin, China
Author    Correspondence author
International Journal of Molecular Medical Science, 2024, Vol. 14, No. 4   
Received: 25 Jun., 2024    Accepted: 29 Jul., 2024    Published: 12 Aug., 2024

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Intratumoral heterogeneity poses a significant challenge in the treatment and understanding of colorectal cancer. Recent advancements in single-cell sequencing technologies have provided unprecedented insights into the cellular diversity within colorectal tumors. This study explores the application of single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and multiomics approaches to dissect the complex heterogeneity of colon cancer at a single-cell resolution. By analyzing individual tumor cells, researchers have identified distinct subtypes of cancer-associated fibroblasts, cancer stem cells, and immune cell populations, each contributing uniquely to tumor progression and therapeutic resistance. The integration of transcriptomic, genomic, and epigenomic data has revealed the dynamic interplay between genetic mutations, epigenetic modifications, and gene expression patterns, offering a comprehensive understanding of tumor evolution and metastasis. Furthermore, computational tools and algorithms have been developed to enhance the clustering accuracy and interpret the high-dimensional data generated from single-cell analyses. These advancements underscore the potential of single-cell sequencing to inform personalized treatment strategies and improve clinical outcomes for colon cancer patients.

Intratumoral heterogeneity; Single-cell RNA sequencing; Colorectal cancer; Cancer stem cells; Tumor microenvironment