Clinical significance of signal transduction and activators of transcription 3, E-cadherin and vimentin in colon cancer

Abstract

To evaluate the clinical significance of STAT3, E-cadherin and vimentin in colon cancer. Samples of colon cancer tissue and adjacent normal tissue were procured from 70 patients with colon cancer. The expressions of STAT3, E-cadherin and vimentin were detected by immunohistochemistry. Associations of clinicopathological characteristics and these three factors were evaluated. STAT3, E-cadherin, vimentin were positive in 74.3%,32.9%, and 78.6% in the colon cancer tissues, respectively, and were 15.7%, 82.9%, and 12.9% in normal colon mucosa tissues, respectively. They were correlated with tumor differentiation, depth of invasion, lymph node metastasis, and TNM staging(P<0.05). There was a positive correlation between STAT3 and vimentin expression(P<0.01). However, STAT3 was negatively correlated with E-cadherin(P<0.01). STAT3, E-cadherin and vimentin are closely associated with colon cancer. The expressions of STAT3, E-cadherin and vimentin may serve as prognostic indicators for patients with colon cancer.