Role of S100 family proteins in colorectal cancer (CRC): an overview of their potential function as new biomarkers and therapeutic agents.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second deadliest cancer worldwide, posing a great threat to human health and a social burden. Various genetic and epigenetic alterations can activate tumourigenesis-related signalling pathways, leading to CRC development and progression. Over the past two decades, the understanding of the role of S100 family proteins in different types of cancer has received great attention. S100 proteins, as intracellular and extracellular, play important roles in regulating various cellular processes, such as calcium homeostasis, apoptosis, tumour cell proliferation, invasion and motility. It is well documented that alteration in expression of S100 proteins can be associated with tumourigenesis and cancer progression. These proteins play important roles in CRC carcinogenesis by activating different signalling pathways, especially the nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) signalling pathway, which is involved in cell proliferation, invasion and migration. In this review, we describe the functions of S100 proteins in the context of inflammation, tumourigenesis, cancer progression, metastasis, and drug resistance in CRC. We also discuss the potential of targeting different S100 proteins as prognostic factors and therapeutic agents for CRC treatment. This narrative review will increase our understanding of the role of S100 proteins in the progression of CRC and provide insights into the use of S100 proteins as new biomarkers and therapeutic targets for CRC therapy.