title: [Expression of Cdx2 protein in colorectal cancer].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The caudal-related homeobox transcription factor, Cdx2, plays an important role in proliferation and differentiation of intestinal epithelial cells. Its expression is confined to normal and neoplastic intestinal epithelium. We evaluated Cdx2 expression in advanced colorectal cancers to determine the correlation between Cdx2 expression and clinicopathologic characteristics.
  
  
  METHODS
  Four hundreds twenty consecutive colorectal cancers were included in the study. Cdx2 expression was investigated by immunohistochemistry using tissue microarrays constructed from surgically resected specimens. 145 invasive breast cancers, normal tissues from gastric mucosa, liver, lung, kidney and ovary were used as control. Nuclear staining was considered to be positive and the result was divided into 3 categories.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the colorectal cancers, Cdx2 was expressed in 380 of 420 (90.5%) cases, and 349 of 380 (83%) cases showed strong and diffuse staining and 31 of 420 (7.5%) cases showed weakly positive staining. Forty patients (9.5%) of colorectal cancer were negative for Cdx2. All of the invasive breast cancers and all non-neoplastic control tissues except the regions of intestinal metaplasia in gastric mucosa, which showed strong Cdx2 expression, were negative for Cdx2. Loss of Cdx2 expression was observed more frequently in cases with deeper invasion (p<0.05), lymph node metastasis (p<0.05), poor histologic differentiation (p<0.001), and distant metastasis (p<0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cdx2 could be a highly sensitive marker to detect metastasis from intestine and might be useful as a novel prognostic marker in colorectal cancers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Yeungnam University College of Medicine, Daegu, Korea.
authors.forename: Jong Hae
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Pack
authors.forename: Tae Dong
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Heun Ah
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.forename: Eun Joo
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Jun Whan
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Byung Ik
authors.initials: BI
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.forename: Tae Nyeun
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Moon Kwan
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: Young Kyung
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Bae
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis; D000071616:CDX2 Transcription Factor; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D000071616:CDX2 Transcription Factor; C491270:CDX2 protein, human; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins