title: Sialoglycoconjugate expression in primary colorectal cancer and metastatic lymph node tissues.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Aberrant cell surface glycosylation, and especially excessive sialylation, is thought to have great importance in tumor malignancy. To investigate the clinicopathological significance of sialylation in colorectal cancer, we performed histochemical analyses using sialic acid-binding lectins.
  
  
  METHODS
  Primary colorectal cancer and lymph node tissues obtained from 80 cases were subjected to lectin-immunohistochemical staining using Maackia amurensis leukoagglutinin (MAL) and Sambucus nigra agglutinin (SNA). The relationship between the staining characteristics and the various clinicopathological parameters was statistically analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In primary cancer tissues, a high level of SNA staining was significantly related to worse prognosis and some pathological characteristics such as lymph node metastasis, whereas a high level of MAL staining was related to worse prognosis. In metastatic lymph node tissues, positive staining was frequently found for MAL and SNA, which wasremarkable in cases categorized as N2 metastasis. Furthermore, cases with MAL-positive staining in metastatic lymph node tissues evidently indicated worse prognosis than those with MAL-negative staining.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Aberrant expression of SNA-positive sialoglycoconjugates in primary colorectal cancer tissues is important in terms of unfavorable pathological characteristics of the cancer. In addition, aberrant expression of MAL-positive sialoglycoconjugates in metastatic lymph node tissues might be related to worse prognosis.
authors.affiliation: Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery Division, Department of Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, the University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshinori
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Inagaki
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Norihiro
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kokudo
authors.forename: Yasuhiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sugawara
authors.forename: Hirona
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Karako
authors.forename: Toshiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Konishi
authors.forename: Munehiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nakata
authors.forename: Hirokazu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nagawa
authors.forename: Masatoshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Makuuchi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006001:Glycoconjugates / Q000378:metabolism*; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000737:chemistry; D006031:Glycosylation; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D029901:Maackia / Q000737:chemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010835:Phytohemagglutinins / Q000737:chemistry; D027924:Sambucus nigra / Q000737:chemistry; D012794:Sialic Acids / Q000737:chemistry; D016019:Survival Analysis
chemical_list: D006001:Glycoconjugates; D006023:Glycoproteins; D010835:Phytohemagglutinins; D012794:Sialic Acids; C100156:leukoagglutinins, plants