Relationship between morphological diversity and AgNORs or cathepsin B expression in colorectal cancers

Abstract

The biological characteristics associated with the morphological diversity of colorectal cancers were investigated to elucidate the causes of this diversity. We examined the proliferative and infiltrating activity of tumor cells, indicated by the mean number of Ag nucleolar organizer region associated proteins (NORs) per nucleus (MNA) and the immunohistochemical response to cathepsin B(CB), in various morphological types of early and advanced colorectal cancers. We examined 73 colorectal cancers obtained by endoscopic and surgical resection. MNA values for sessile and flat-elevated cancers were greater than the values for pedunculate, subpedunculate, and flat-or-depressed early cancers (sessile, P < 0.05). In advanced cancers invading the muscularis propria, protruding cancers showed significantly higher MNA values than small ulcerative cancers (P < 0.01). CB expression increased significantly with the progression of colorectal cancers (P < 0.01), but was not related to morphological diversity in early and advanced cancers. In both sessile and flat cancers, CB expression was higher in moderately differentiated than in well differentiated adenocarcinomas. These results indicate that, in colorectal cancers, protruding early cancers without stalks and protruding advanced cancers have higher proliferative activity than pedunculate or flat early cancers and small ulcerative advanced cancers, respectively, and that CB expression is not associated with morphological diversity, but with depth of invasion and histological differentiation.

Different Expression of Sialyl Tn Antigen between Polypoid and Nonpolypoid Growth Types of Advanced Colorectal Carcinoma

“…Such morphologic differences between cancers may reflect differences in the biological characteristics of the individual cancer cells. Compared with PG-type cancers, NPG-type cancers possess a low incidence of K- ras mutation [6, 8, 9], different cellular proliferation activity [10], different numerical chromosome aberrations [11, 12], and a lack of a pericryptal fibroblast network [26]. The current study reveals the difference in sialyl Tn expression during tumor development between two growth types.…”

“…Such morphologic differences between PG-type and NPG-type cancers may reflect differences in biological characteristics of the cancer cells themselves. In keeping with this hypothesis, characteristics such as a low incidence of K- ras mutation [6, 8, 9], different cellular proliferation activity [10], and distinct chromosomal aberrations [11, 12]have all been reported. However, other cellular features of PG-type and NPG-type colorectal cancers remain unknown, including the processes of cellular transformation during carcinogenesis and tumor progression.…”

Comparison of the expression of ABH/Lewis‐related antigens in polypoid and non‐polypoid growth types of colorectal carcinoma

“…The difference in the morphology of PG‐type and NPG‐type cancers may reflect differences in the biological characteristics of the cancer cells themselves. Recently, we reported the results of molecular analysis of the cellular features of PG‐type and NPG‐type colorectal carcinomas and found alteration of chromosomes and cellular proliferation activity 6,7 . The K ‐ ras mutation is present in a small percentage of NPG‐type colorectal cancers 2 .…”

Colorectal carcinoma: contribution of growth pattern on prognosis

“…Further studies have described differences in the biologic behaviour as well as in the cellular and genetic features of PG-type and NPG-type carcinomas, indicating a difference in the pathway of colorectal carcinogenesis [2][3][4][5][6][7][8].…”