Objective: To investigate the relationship between expression of c-erbB-2, CD44v6 and nm23 gene proteins and the clinicopathological features of colorectal carcinomas.
Methods: Immunohistochemical technique was adopted to detect the protein expression of c-erbB-2, CD44v6 and nm23 genes in 92 cases of colorectal carcinomas. Of the 92 cases, 28 cases were followed up for more than 10 years, in which the prognosis was analyzed.
Results: Expression of c-erbB-2 and CD44v6 was correlating with UICC staging (P < 0.05), and c-erbB-2 was associated with prominent peritumoral lymphocytic infiltration (P < 0.05). In the 28 cases with followed-up data, univariant analysis revealed that the survival rate was correlated with histological grading, UICC staging, tumor growth pattern, peritumoral lymphocytic infiltration, and expression of c-erbB-2, CD44v6 and nm23. However, Cox stepwise proportional hazards analysis showed that only UICC staging, c-erbB-2 and nm23 status retained significant independently in prospecting prognosis.
Conclusions: Besides UICC III and IV stage, overexpression of c-erbB-2 and decreased expression of nm23 are considered acceptable as the parameters in predicting of poor prognosis in colorectal carcinoma.