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J Clin Pathol 2005;58:833-838 doi:10.1136/jcp.2004.023416
  • Original article

Expression of p-STAT3 in human colorectal adenocarcinoma and adenoma; correlation with clinicopathological factors

  1. T Kusaba1,2,
  2. T Nakayama1,
  3. K Yamazumi2,
  4. Y Yakata1,
  5. A Yoshizaki1,
  6. T Nagayasu2,
  7. I Sekine1
  1. 1Department of Molecular Pathology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, 852-8523, Japan
  2. 2Department of Translational Medical Sciences, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
  1. Correspondence to:
 Dr T Nakayama
 Department of Molecular Pathology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, 852-8523, Japan; toshi-nnet.nagasaki-u.ac.jp
  • Accepted 4 January 2005

Abstract

Background: The signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is a key signalling molecule implicated in the regulation of growth and malignant transformation. Constitutive activation of STAT3 is seen in several tumour derived cell lines, and in a wide variety of human malignancies.

Aims: To examine the relation between p-STAT3 (activated form of STAT3) expression and clinicopathological factors in human colorectal adenocarcinoma and adenoma.

Methods: Immunohistochemical analyses were carried out on tissues from 44 colorectal adenomas and 95 colorectal adenocarcinomas, comprising 18 intramucosal carcinomas and 77 invasive carcinomas.

Results: Seventy seven of these 139 samples (55.4%) showed immunoreactivity for p-STAT3. Positive staining for p-STAT3 was seen in 69 of the 95 carcinomas. Only eight of the 44 adenomas showed immunopositivity for p-STAT3, resulting in a significant difference between total adenocarcinomas and adenomas (p < 0.001). Among the 95 cases of colorectal adenocarcinoma, p-STAT3 immunoreactivity was significantly correlated with the depth of tumour invasion (p < 0.05), venous invasion (p < 0.05), lymph node metastasis (p < 0.05), and increasing stages of the Dukes’ classification (p < 0.01). Expression of p-STAT3 was detected by Western blot analysis in two different cultured human colorectal carcinoma cell lines and six colon carcinoma tissue samples obtained at surgery.

Conclusion: This is the first study to report a significant correlation of p-STAT3 expression with the depth of tumour invasion. These findings suggest that p-STAT3 expression is an important factor related to carcinogenesis and/or tumour invasion of colorectal adenocarcinoma.

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