Fascin expression predicts survival after potentially curative resection of node-positive colon cancer.
Fascin, an actin-bundling protein, is expressed in many neoplasms including colorectal cancer. It is considered to be a mediator of tumor cell invasion and an indicator of aggressive phenotype; however, there are few reports on the association between fascin and prognosis in colorectal cancer. The aims of this study were to: (a) investigate the expression of fascin in the central part of the tumor and at the invasive front in patients who had a potentially curative resection for node-positive colonic carcinoma; (b) examine the method of scoring fascin expression; and (c) investigate the association between fascin expression and overall survival and other clinicopathologic features. Fascin expression was assessed by immunostaining of microarrays from archived tissue of 470 patients who were followed for a minimum of 5 years after resection. Other clinicopathologic data had been recorded prospectively according to a standardized protocol. Analysis of overall survival was by the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression. For both central tumor tissue and the invasive front, it was found that the percentage of stained cells was a sufficient measure of fascin expression in relation to survival, with staining intensity providing no significant additional information. At both levels, there was a significant independent association between high fascin expression and diminished survival, although this association was much stronger in the central region (adjusted hazard ratio 1.6, P<0.001) than at the invasive front (adjusted hazard ratio 1.1, P=0.044). Fascin expression predicted overall survival but did not displace other routinely collected clinicopathologic predictors.
Chan
Charles
C
Department of Anatomical Pathology, Concord Hospital, Sydney, Australia.
Jankova
Lucy
L
Fung
Caroline L S
CL
Clarke
Candice
C
Robertson
Graham
G
Chapuis
Pierre H
PH
Bokey
Les
L
Lin
Betty P C
BP
Dent
Owen F
OF
Clarke
Stephen
S
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality / Q000556:secondary*; D000368:Aged; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D003106:Colon / Q000601:surgery; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008840:Microfilament Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D011379:Prognosis; D015996:Survival Rate
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D008840:Microfilament Proteins; C020324:fascin