Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 2013 Jan, 229(1)

Prognostic and Diagnostic Significance of Tumor Budding Associated with β-Catenin Expression in Submucosal Invasive Colorectal Carcinoma

KEN UMEMURA,¹ SHO TAKAGI,¹ TAKENOBU SHIMADA,² TAKAYUKI MASUDA,² HISASHI SHIGA,¹ SHUICHIRO TAKAHASHI,¹ SEIICHI TAKAHASHI,¹ YOSHITAKA KINOUCHI,¹ DAISUKE SHIBUYA² and TOORU SHIMOSEGAWA¹

¹Division of Gastroenterology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
²Miyagi Cancer Society, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan

Endoscopic resection has become a major curative treatment for early colorectal carcinoma without lymph node metastasis. However, lymph node metastasis, a poor prognostic factor in colorectal carcinoma, occurs in about 10% of the patients with submucosal invasive colorectal carcinoma. Therefore, it is important to identify a high-risk factor for lymph node metastasis in submucosal invasive colorectal carcinoma. This study was designed to identify the relationship between tumor budding with β-catenin expression and lymph node metastasis in submucosal invasive colorectal carcinoma. We investigated the immunohistochemistry of tumor budding in the 142 patients who underwent surgical resection for submucosal invasive colorectal carcinomas between 1984 and 1999 and the expression pattern of β-catenin in budding tumor cells. Accordingly, all the patients were followed up for at least 10 years or until death. Among the 142 patients, lymph node metastasis was detected in 14 patients (9.9%). Univariate analysis showed that tumor budding with ≥ 5 tumor cells or cell clusters with expression of β-catenin in the nucleus was significantly associated with lymph node metastasis (P = 0.005). In contrast, tumor budding detected by hematoxylin and eosin staining was not associated with lymph node metastasis. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that tumor budding with ≥ 5 tumor cells or cell clusters with expression of β-catenin in the nucleus was a significant risk factor for lymph node metastasis (odds ratio, 7.124; 95% confidence interval, 1.407-36.062). Thus, tumor budding associated with β-catenin expression is a risk factor for lymph node metastasis in submucosal invasive colorectal carcinoma.

keywords —— β-catenin; lymph node metastasis; mortality; submucosal invasive colorectal carcinoma; tumor budding

© 2013 Tohoku University Medical Press

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Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 2013, 229, 53-59

Correspondence: Ken Umemura, Division of Gastroenterology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8574, Japan.

e-mail: umekun@nyc.odn.ne.jp