Abstract 4526: Lumican and Versican predict good outcome in stage II and III colon cancer

Abstract

Abstract Background and Purpose: Tumor stroma plays an important role in the progression and metastasis of colon cancer. The glycoproteins versican and lumican are overexpressed in colon carcinomas and are associated with the formation of tumor stroma. The aim of the present study was to investigate the potential prognostic value of versican and lumican expression in the epithelial and stromal compartment of stage II and III colon cancer. Methods: Clinicopathological data and tissue samples were collected from stage II (n=226) and stage III (n=160) colon cancer patients. Tissue microarrays (TMAs) were constructed with cores taken both from the center and the periphery of the tumor. These were immunohistochemically stained for lumican and versican. Expression levels were scored on digitized slides. Statistical evaluation was performed using SPSS. Results: Versican expression by epithelial cells in the periphery of the tumor, i.e., near the invasive front, was correlated to a longer disease free survival (DFS) for the whole cohort (P=0.01), stage III patients only (P=0.01), stage III patients with microsatellite instable (MSI) tumors (P=0.04) and stage III patients with microsatellite stable (MSS) tumors who did not receive adjuvant chemotherapy (P=0.006). Lumican expression in epithelial cells overall in the tumor was correlated to a longer disease specific survival (DSS) in stage II patients (P=0.05) and to a longer DFS and DSS in MSS stage II patients (P=0.02 and P=0.004). Conclusion: In the present series, protein expression of versican and lumican predicted good clinical outcome for stage III and stage II colon cancer patients, respectively. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4526. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-4526