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Copyright ©2008 The WJG Press and Baishideng. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jun 28, 2008; 14(24): 3866-3871
Published online Jun 28, 2008. doi: 10.3748/wjg.14.3866
Nuclear β-catenin expression as a prognostic factor in advanced colorectal carcinoma
Adam Elzagheid, Abdelbaset Buhmeida, Eija Korkeila, Yrjö Collan, Kari Syrjänen, Seppo Pyrhönen
Adam Elzagheid, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine Al-Arab Medical University, Benghazi, Libya
Abdelbaset Buhmeida, Eija Korkeila, Kari Syrjänen, Seppo Pyrhönen, Department of Oncology and Radiotherapy, Turku University Hospital, Savitehtaankatu 1 PB 52, FIN-20521, Turku, Finland
Yrjö Collan, Department of pathology, University of Turku, Kiinamyllynkatu 10, FIN-20540, Turku, Finland
Correspondence to: Dr. Adam Elzagheid, MD, PhD, Depart-ment of Pathology, University of Turku, Kiinamyllynkatu 10, FIN-20520, Turku, Finland. adibel@utu.fi
Telephone: +35-8-2-3133966
Fax: +35-8-2-3133965
Received: May 9, 2007
Revised: May 26, 2007
Accepted: June 2, 2007
Published online: June 28, 2008
Abstract

AIM: To investigate the changing pattern of β-catenin expression and its prognostic value in advanced colorectal cancer (CRC).

METHODS: Archival tumor samples were analyzed for β-catenin using immunohistochemistry (IHC) in 95 patients with advanced CRC.

RESULTS: Membranous β-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 β-catenin expression provides additional information in predicting patient outcome in advanced CRC.

Keywords: Colorectal carcinoma, β-catenin membrane staining, Cytoplasmic staining, Nuclear staining, Immunohistochemistry, Prognosis, Disease-free survival, Disease-specific survival