Brief Reports
Copyright ©2005 Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Apr 14, 2005; 11(14): 2179-2183
Published online Apr 14, 2005. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v11.i14.2179
Relationships of tumor inflammatory infiltration and necrosis with microsatellite instability in colorectal cancers
Jing-Fang Gao, Gunnar Arbman, Tabasum Imran Wadhra, Hong Zhang, Xiao-Feng Sun
Jing-Fang Gao, Tabasum Imran Wadhra, Xiao-Feng Sun, Department of Oncology, Institute of Biomedicine and Surgery, University of Linköping, Linköping, Sweden
Gunnar Arbman, Department of Surgery, Vrinnevi Hospital, Norrköping, Sweden
Hong Zhang, Department of Dermatology, Institute of Biomedicine and Surgery, University of Linköping, Linköping, Sweden
Jing-Fang Gao, Department of Oncology, Institute of Biomedicine and Surgery, University of Linköping, S-581 85 Linköping, Sweden
Author contributions: All authors contributed equally to the work.
Supported by grants from the Swedish Cancer Foundation and the Health Research Council in the South-East of Sweden
Correspondence to: Xiao-Feng Sun, Associate Professor, MD, PhD, Department of Oncology, Institute of Biomedicine and Surgery, University of Linköping, S-581 85 Linköping, Sweden. xiasu@ibk.liu.se
Telephone: +46-13-222066 Fax: +46-13-222846
Received: September 16, 2004
Revised: September 17, 2004
Accepted: October 8, 2004
Published online: April 14, 2005
Abstract

AIM: The relationships between microsatellite instability (MSI) and survival in colorectal cancer patients are not consistent. The favorable survival of patient with MSI has been suggested to be related to pronounced inflammatory infiltration; however, the reason for non-association of MSI with survival is unclear. Our aims were to investigate the associations of inflammatory infiltration and tumor necrosis (TN) with microsatellite status and clinicopathological factors in colorectal cancer patients in whom MSI was not related to survival.

METHODS: Three hundred and one colorectal adenocar-cinomas were evaluated for inflammatory infiltration and 300 for TN under light microscope.

RESULTS: Low infiltration at invasive margin (χ2 = 3.94, P = 0.047) and in whole tumor stroma (χ2 = 3.89, P = 0.049) was associated with MSI, but TN was not (χ2=0.10, P = 0.75). Low infiltration was related to advanced stage (χ2 = 8.67, P = 0.03), poorer differentiation (χ2 = 8.84, P = 0.03), DNA non-diploid (χ2 = 10.04, P = 0.002), higher S-phase fraction (χ2 = 11.30, P = 0.004), positive p53 expression (χ2 = 7.94, P = 0.01), and worse survival (P = 0.03 for both univariate and multivariate analyses). Abundant TN was related to advanced stage (χ2 = 17.74, P = 0.001) and worse survival (P = 0.02 for univariate, and P = 0.05 for multivariate analysis).

CONCLUSION: The result that high inflammatory infiltration was not related to MSI might help explain the non-association of MSI with survival in colorectal cancer patients.

Keywords: Inflammatory infiltration; Necrosis; Microsatellite instability; Prognosis; Colorectal cancer