Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Guanylyl cyclase C appears to be expressed only in colorectal cancer cells in extraintestinal tissues. Thus, guanylyl cyclase C may be useful as a marker to detect colorectal cancer micrometastases not detectable by histopathology in lymph nodes of patients. METHODS: Twelve patients with colon adenocarcinoma, Dukes Stages A through C2, and one patient with a tubulovillous adenoma were included in this study. Forty-two lymph nodes were collected from fresh surgical specimens, and each was examined by histopathology and reverse transcription followed by polymerase chain reaction using guanylyl cyclase C-specific primers. Histopathology identified colon cancer cells in 6 of 16 lymph nodes from five Dukes Stage C patients but not in lymph nodes from the patient with a tubulovillous adenoma, the Dukes Stage A patient, or six Dukes Stage B patients. Reverse transcription followed by polymerase chain reaction using guanylyl cyclase C- specific primers was performed on all 42 lymph nodes. RESULTS: Guanylyl cyclase C messenger RNA was not detected by reverse transcription followed by polymerase chain reaction in lymph nodes from the patient with the tubulovillous adenoma or the patient with Dukes Stage A colon carcinoma. Seven lymph nodes from Dukes Stage C patients revealed guanylyl cyclase C messenger RNA including six lymph nodes containing histopathologically confirmed metastases. Of significance, guanylyl cyclase C messenger RNA was detected in 6 of 21 lymph nodes from Dukes Stage B patients. Indeed, clinical staging of two patients could be upgraded from B to C using reverse transcription followed by polymerase chain reaction and guanylyl cyclase C- specific primers. CONCLUSION: Reverse transcription followed by polymerase chain reaction using guanylyl cyclase C-specific primers might be useful to more accurately assess micrometastases in lymph nodes of colorectal cancer patients undergoing disease staging.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 310-315 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Diseases of the Colon and Rectum |
Volume | 41 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 1998 |
Keywords
- Adenocarcinoma/diagnosis
- Adult
- Aged
- Aged, 80 and over
- Biomarkers, Tumor/analysis
- Colonic Neoplasms/pathology
- Female
- Guanylate Cyclase/analysis
- Humans
- Lymph Nodes/enzymology
- Lymphatic Metastasis/diagnosis
- Male
- Middle Aged
- Neoplasm Staging
- Polymerase Chain Reaction
- Prognosis
- Prospective Studies
- Receptors, Enterotoxin
- Receptors, Guanylate Cyclase-Coupled
- Receptors, Peptide/analysis