Molecular determinants of peritoneal dissemination in gastric adenocarcinoma

Peritoneal dissemination represents a poor prognostic indicator in gastric cancer. Despite a comprehensive molecular characterization of this disease, no peritoneal dissemination-specific signature has been identified, limiting the tailoring of the surgical and oncological treatments. In this review, we outline the available literature focusing on the role of the different molecular pathways involved in the acquisition of peritoneal metastatic dissemination. According to our results, several molecular determinants are associated with peritoneal carcinomatosis and are involved in several cellular and molecular carcinogenetic processes. However, a comprehensive understanding of the complex molecular landscape of gastric carcinosis is still lacking. More efforts should be made towards the integration of molecular and histologic data to perform a risk prediction assessment of peritoneal dissemination based on molecular profiling and histological evaluation.