Objective: To study the expression of KAI1/CD82 in human colorectal tumor and its significance.
Methods: Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of CD82 in 40 colorectal carcinoma, 20 lymphatic metastasis, 18 adenoma and 20 normal colorectal epithelium specimens, respectively.
Results: The expression of CD82 was rather low in adenoma and normal colorectal epithelium, with the positivity rates of 25% and 10% respectively; 28 of the 40 colorectal carcinoma specimens were positive for CD82, resulting in a positivity rate of 70%. The rate for lymphatic metastasis was only 5%. The differences between the 4 groups were significant (P <0.05), and the expression of CD82 in the carcinoma was not related to the histological grades (P >0.05), but was associated with the presence of metastasis (P <0.05).
Conclusion: CD82 is related to the progression of colorectal carcinoma.