title: Comparison of cyclooxygenase-2 and CD44 mRNA expression in colorectal cancer and its relevance for prognosis.
abstract: This study evaluated CD44 and COX-2 expression in colorectal cancer (CRC) and analyzed its relationship with the clinicopathological characteristics. The prognostic impact on patient survival was compared between the two proteins. CD44 and COX-2 mRNA levels in 42 primary CRCs were analyzed using quantitative real-time PCR, with normalization relative to GAPDH. The cycle threshold (Ct) values were measured, and results are expressed as the Ct ratios of CD44 or COX-2 to GAPDH. The COX-2 Ct ratio was much lower in cases of lymphovascular invasion by the tumor than for no invasion (P = 0.004). During follow-up for a median of 40 months, there was no significant difference in the median CD44 Ct ratio between survivors and non-survivors (P = 0.362), whereas the COX-2 Ct ratio was significantly associated with survival at the time of data analysis (P = 0.042). The survival of colorectal cancer patients with a high COX-2 Ct ratio was significantly longer than that of patients with a low COX-2 Ct ratio (P = 0.048). This study suggests that COX-2 expression has a more significant impact than CD44 expression on the survival of CRC patients. Further studies are needed to resolve these issues with a large sample size.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital and Medical School, 160 Ilsimri, Hwasun-eup, Hwasun-gun, Gwangju 519-809, Jeonnam, South Korea.
authors.forename: Jung Wook
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Huh
authors.forename: Hyeong Rok
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jae Hyuk
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Young Jin
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2 / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D006801:Humans; D018960:Hyaluronan Receptors / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D018960:Hyaluronan Receptors; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2