Background:-Colorectal carcinoma (CRC) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Both calcium-binding protein, S100A4, and the cell adhesion molecule, CD24, have been implicated to play an important role in carcinogenesis and tumor progression in various human malignancies. Aim:-To evaluate the expressionof S100A4 and CD24 in colorectal tumors and their role in development and progression of CRC and correlate their expression with the clinicopathological features. Methods:-S100A4 and CD24 expression was analyzed by immunohistochemistry in paraffin-embedded specimens of colorectal adenomas (n=18) and CRC (n=40). Results:-S100A4 and CD24 expression was detected in 28/40 (70%) and 24/40 (60%) of CRC respectively.The positive expression rates of S100A4 and CD24 were significantly higher in CRC than adenomas (P<0.05). S100A4 was significantly expressed in tumors with high histological grades (P= 0.03).A statistically significant relationship was found between S100A4 and CD24 expression and advanced tumor stage (P= 0.009 and =0.03), lymph node metastasis (P=0.04 and =0.0001) and lymph-vascular space invasion (LVSI) (P=0.02 and =0.008) respectively, but not with the age, gender and tumor size (P>0.05). Conclusion:-S100A4 and CD24 up-regulation may be associated with the development and progression of CRC. Combined detection of S100A4 and CD24 may serve as an indicator of the aggressive behavior and poor prognosis of CRC.

Background:Fascin and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) have been implicated in regulation of cell invasion and metastasis in many types of cancers. Aim: To evaluate the expression of fascin and MMP-9 in urothelial carcinoma (UC) of the urinary bladder and correlate their expression with the clinicopathological variables and to assess the relationship between them. Materials and methods: Fascin and MMP-9 immunoexpression was evaluated semiquantitatively in 60 cases of UCs according to the percentage of the positive cells. Results:Fascin and MMP-9 expression was observed in 66.7% and 60% of the studied cases of UCs respectively. The expression was significantly different from the normal urothelium. Fascin and MMP-9 expression was significantly higher with advanced tumor stage (P =0.02 and =0.01 respectively) and lymph-vascular space invasion (LVSI) (P<0.001 and =0.03 respectively). MMP-9 overexpression was significantly associated with the tumor grade (P =0.03). There was a positive correlation between fascin and MMP-9 expression (r =0.5, P =0.03). More intense immunostaining was detected at the invasive fronts compared with other areas of the tumor in 50% and 40% of UCs with positive fascin and MMP-9 expression respectively. Conclusion: Our results point to an association between increased fascin and MMP-9 expression and UC invasiveness and suggest that both markers may act in concert to mediate a more aggressive behavior through promoting tumor cell invasion.