The Receptor Tyrosine Kinase EphA2 and Integrin-linked Kinase Expression in Colorectal Cancer in Relation to the Severity of the Tumor

Abstract

Abstract Background: Although colorectal carcinoma is still the second cancer-related death worldwide, the current knowledge of the prognostic profile of routine markers is still humble. This study aimed to study the receptor tyrosine kinase EphA2 and integrin-linked kinase expression in relation to the severity of the disease represented by the grade, extent of invasion, and lymph node involvement. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study included 87 colorectal cancer cases diagnosed between 2019 and 2022. The immunohistochemical expression and scoring of integrin-linked kinase and EphA2 was carried out and correlated to the histological variables of severity. Results: The mean age of the studied cases was 57.85 years, and approximately 56.3% of them were females. The majority of the cases were moderately differentiated carcinoma (81.61%). More than half of the patients presented in T3. No lymph-node involvement was detected in 65.52 cases. The majority of the studied cases showed negative integrin-linked kinase expression in tumor cells in the colon and lymph nodes. Even positive cases showed low scores. EphA2 marker showed higher positivity in tumor cells of the colon and lymph nodes with higher scores, but no significant correlation to the histopathological variables. Conclusion: The EphA2 marker is of higher benefit than the integrin-linked kinase and the last one is of limited prognostic role in colorectal cancer due to the very high negative and low score results.