Growth and Invasion of Sporadic Colorectal Adenocarcinomas in Terms of Genetic Change

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

<P>Integrative genetic changes were examined in relation to tumor growth and progression of sporadic colorectal cancers. Ninety-two sporadic colorectal cancer patients and 12 human colorectal cancer cell lines were evaluated. Genetic changes in representative steps of colorectal tumorigenesis were determined. Biological characteristics, i.e., clinicopathologic parameters, expression of invasion-associated molecules, and in vitro invasion and migration, in association with these changes were further analyzed. Adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) and/or Wnt-activated alterations occurred in 66% patients, whereas mismatch repair (MMR) defects and/or RAF-mediated alterations were identified in 47% patients. The crossover rate between these two alterations was 26%. Differential mRNA expression of <I>ARK5</I> was closely associated with that of <I>MMP2</I>, <I>MMP9</I>, and <I>S100A4</I> (<I>P</I>≤0.044-0.001). Additionally, enhanced <I>ARK5</I> mRNA expression was more frequent in tumors displaying RAF-mediated alterations and crossover pathways (<I>P</I>=0.01 and 0.03, respectively). Upregulation of <I>CEA</I> mRNA was more common in the advanced stages (<I>P</I>=0.034), while <I>VEGF</I> expression was greater in poorly differentiated or mucinous tumors (<I>P</I>=0.042). The high expressions of <I>MMP2</I> and <I>MMP9</I> were closely associated with invasion and migration of colorectal tumors and cell lines. Our results conclusively show that specific pathways of colorectal tumorigenesis are closely associated with characteristic tumor growth and invasion.</P>