Brief Article
Copyright ©2012 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Sep 7, 2012; 18(33): 4549-4556
Published online Sep 7, 2012. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v18.i33.4549
Lack of CD44 variant 6 expression in rectal cancer invasive front associates with early recurrence
Suvi Tuulia Avoranta, Eija Annika Korkeila, Kari Juhani Syrjänen, Seppo Olavi Pyrhönen, Jari Toivo Tapio Sundström
Suvi Tuulia Avoranta, Eija Annika Korkeila, Kari Juhani Syrjänen, Seppo Olavi Pyrhönen, Department of Oncology and Radiotherapy, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, FIN-20521 Turku, Finland
Jari Toivo Tapio Sundström, Department of Pathology, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, FIN-20520 Turku, Finland
Author contributions: All authors designed the research; Avoranta ST and Korkeila EA collected the clinicopathological data; Avoranta ST and Sundström JTT analyzed the immunohistochemical staining; Avoranta ST and Syrjänen KJ performed the statistical work; Avoranta ST wrote the paper; Korkeila EA, Syrjänen KJ, Pyrhönen SO and Sundström JTT gave comments and suggested revisions.
Supported by The Special Government Funding (EVO) allocated to Turku University Hospital; the Turku University Foundation, to Avoranta ST; the Cancer Society of South-Western Finland, to Sundström JTT; and the Finnish Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology, to Korkeila EA
Correspondence to: Tuulia Avoranta, MD, Department of Oncology and Radiotherapy, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Hämeentie 11, FIN-20521 Turku, Finland. stavor@utu.fi
Telephone: +35-82-3131834 Fax: +35-82-3132809
Received: November 21, 2011
Revised: March 29, 2012
Accepted: May 12, 2012
Published online: September 7, 2012
Abstract

AIM: To investigate the prognostic value of CD44 variant 6 (CD44v6), a membranous adhesion molecule, in rectal cancer.

METHODS: Altogether, 210 rectal cancer samples from 214 patients treated with short-course radiotherapy (RT, n = 90), long-course (chemo) RT (n = 53) or surgery alone (n = 71) were studied with immunohistochemistry for CD44v6. The extent and intensity of membranous and cytoplasmic CD44v6 staining, and the intratumoral membranous staining pattern, were analyzed.

RESULTS: Membranous CD44v6 expression was seen in 84% and cytoplasmic expression in 81% of the cases. In 59% of the tumors with membranous CD44v6 expression, the staining pattern in the invasive front was determined as “front-positive” and in 41% as “front-negative”. The latter pattern was associated with narrower circumferential margin (P = 0.01), infiltrative growth pattern (P < 0.001), and shorter disease-free survival in univariate survival analysis (P = 0.022) when compared to the “front-positive” tumors.

CONCLUSION: The lack of membranous CD44v6 in the rectal cancer invasive front could be used as a method to identify patients at increased risk for recurrent disease.

Keywords: CD44 variant 6; Rectal cancer; Invasive front; Disease-free survival; Disease-specific survival