title: Nuclear aldehyde dehydrogenase 1A1 (ALDH1A1) expression is a favorable prognostic indicator in colorectal carcinoma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the expression pattern of aldehyde dehydrogenase 1A1 (ALDH1A1) in the normal-adenoma-primary carcinoma-liver metastasis sequence, and investigate its association with clinicopathological features and outcomes.
  
  
  METHODS
  Immunohistochemistry for ALDH1A1 was performed on two cohorts. One used tissue microarrays (TMAs) of 395 primary colorectal carcinomas, and the other used whole-tissue sections from 217 adenomas, 265 primary carcinomas, and 72 liver metastatic carcinomas. Both the epithelial and stromal expression of ALDH1A1 were evaluated. Both cytoplasmic and nuclear expression were assessed in epithelial cells.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the TMA and whole-tissue cohorts, univariate analysis indicated that the cytoplasmic expression of ALDH1A1 cannot be considered as a prognosis marker of CRCs. In the whole-tissue cohort, nuclear expression was found in a small subgroup of CRC patients. Here, both univariate and multivariate analysis showed that nuclear expression was significantly associated with longer disease-specific survival. In addition, we found that nuclear expression in low-grade adenoma was predominant over high-grade adenoma, primary CRC and the correpsonding liver metastasis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Whole-tissue is better than TMA for the detection of ALDH1A1 nuclear staining in CRC patients, and nuclear expression is associated with a better outcome. Cytoplasmic expression is not a suitable prognostic marker of CRC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Yuhangtang Road 866, Hangzhou 310058, Zhejiang, China; Key Laboratory of Disease Proteomics of Zhejiang Province, Yuhangtang Road 866, Hangzhou 310058, Zhejiang, China.
authors.forename: Lili
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Jiangsu Road 16, Qingdao University, 266000 Qingdao, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Dongliang
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Judicial Evidence and Evaluation Center, Zhejiang University, Kaixuan Road 268, Hangzhou 310028, Zhejiang, China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Yuhangtang Road 866, Hangzhou 310058, Zhejiang, China; Key Laboratory of Disease Proteomics of Zhejiang Province, Yuhangtang Road 866, Hangzhou 310058, Zhejiang, China. Electronic address: lmp@zju.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Maode
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lai
mesh_terms: D000236:Adenoma / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000080924:Aldehyde Dehydrogenase 1 Family; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism*; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality / Q000556:secondary; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D050697:Retinal Dehydrogenase / Q000378:metabolism*; D015996:Survival Rate
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D000080924:Aldehyde Dehydrogenase 1 Family; C545372:ALDH1A2 protein, human; D050697:Retinal Dehydrogenase
keywords: ALDH1A1; Colorectal carcinoma; Nuclear expression; Prognosis