title: Thrombospondin in colorectal disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the presence of thrombospondin (TSP) in normal and colonic disease and correlate its presence to survival in colorectal cancers.
  
  
  METHODS
  A specific antibody was used to stain paraffin-embedded sections of human colorectal disease (103 carcinomas, 10 inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), 10 diverticulosis and 10 normal). The stained sections were viewed by light microscopy and the degree of staining was quantified using computer-assisted image analysis system.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seventy-three percent of carcinomas, 30% of IBD and 80% of the diverticulosis specimens stained for TSP. None of the 'normal' specimens examined showed any staining. No significant correlation could be detected between TSP expression and survival in colorectal cancer patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The presence of TSP in the colon is not specific and merely indicates the presence of a disease process.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK, Department Pathological Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK, Department of Pathology, University Hospital of South Manchester, Manchester, UK.
authors.lastname: Behzad
authors.lastname: Abdalla
authors.lastname: Gardy
authors.lastname: Battrick
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.lastname: Haboubi