Original article
English
Elzagheid A 1, Buhmeida A 2, Korkeila E 2, Collan Y 3, Syrjanen K 2, Pyrhonen S 2.
1-Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine Al-Arab Medical University, Benghazi, Libya 2-Department of Oncology and Radiotherapy, Turku University Hospital, Savitehtaankatu 1 PB 52, FIN-20521, Turku, Finland 3-Department of pathology, University of Turku, Kiinamyllynkatu 10, FIN-20540, Turku, Finland
World J Gastroenterol. 2008 Jun 28;14(24):3866-71.
Abstract
AIM: To investigate the changing pattern of b-catenin expression and its prognostic value in advanced colorectal cancer (CRC).
METHODS: Archival tumor samples were analyzed for b-catenin using immunohistochemistry (IHC) in 95 patients with advanced CRC.
RESULTS: Membranous b-catenin expression was found in the normal colorectal epithelium. Almost 100% of CRC cases showed membranous and cytoplasmic expression, and 55 (58%) cases showed nuclear expression. In univariate (Kaplan-Meier) survival analysis, only the nuclear index (NI) was a significant predictor of disease-free survival (DFS) (P = 0.023; n = 35), with a NI above the median associated with longer DFS (34.2 mo) than those with a NI below the median (15.5 mo) (P = 0.045, ANOVA). The other indices were not significant predictors of DFS, and none of the three tested indices (for membranous, cytoplasmic, or nuclear expression) predicted disease-specific survival (DSS). However, when dichotomized as positive or negative nuclear expression, the former was a significant predictor of more favorable DFS (P = 0.041) and DSS (P = 0.046).
CONCLUSION: Nuclear b-catenin expression provides additional information in predicting patient outcome in advanced CRC.
Keywords: Colorectal carcinoma; b-catenin membrane staining; Cytoplasmic staining, Nuclear staining; Immunohistochemistry; Prognosis; Disease-free survival; Disease-specific survival
Link/DOI: http://www.wjgnet.com/1007-9327/14/3866.asp