title: [Expression of connective tissue growth factor in colorectal cancer and its association with prognosis].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the expression of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) in colorectal cancer(CRC) and its association with clinicopathologic parameters and overall survival rate.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fresh tumor tissues and matched distal normal colon tissues were collected from 92 patients diagnosed as CRC by surgical operation. The expression level of CTGF mRNA was quantified by quantitative reverse transcription PCR. Thirty out of 92 pairs of tissue specimens were selected randomly to detect CTGF protein by immunohistochemistry. All the cases were followed up to identify prognostic factors for survival.
  
  
  RESULTS
  CTGF mRNA expression was up-regulated in CRC. The positive rate of CTGF protein expression tissues (73.3%) was significantly higher than that in the corresponding normal tissues (23.3%, P<0.01). CTGF expression was lower in patients with lymphatic metastasis or stage III/IIII disease (all P<0.05). A negative association was also observed between the CTGF protein positive rate and tumor infiltration depth (P<0.05). The relative expression of CTGF mRNA in tumor tissues was classified into high and low expression groups. The 5-year cumulative survival rate was lower in patients with low CTGF expression (29.3%) as compared to those with high CTGF expressions (68.3%) (P<0.01). Cox regression analysis revealed that the relative expression level of CTGF was independent factor of overall survival (RR=2.960, 95%CI:1.491-1.587, P<0.01). ROC curve analysis showed that sensitivity and specificity of CTGF mRNA expression for prediction of 5-year survival were 64.9% and 74.5%, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The aberrant expression of CTGF is associated with the malignant biological behaviors of CRC. Low expression of CTGF is associated with worse prognosis of CRC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The First Municipal People's Hospital of Guangzhou, Guangzhou Medical College, Guangzhou 510180, China.
authors.forename: Zheng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Li-yuan
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: Tong
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Wei-jian
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cao
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D055513:Connective Tissue Growth Factor / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: C526317:CCN2 protein, human; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D055513:Connective Tissue Growth Factor