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Correlative study of microvessel density and 5-lipoxygenase expression in human sporadic colorectal cancer
Valeria Barresi1, Enrica Vitarelli, Giovanni Tuccari
1Department of Human Pathology, University of Messina, Messina, Italy. valeriabarresi@hotmail.com
Context:
5-Lipoxygenase (5-LO) is an arachidonic acid- metabolizing enzyme, which has been demonstrated to exert a role in colorectal cancer tumorigenesis. Its activity in promoting neoangiogenesis in colorectal malignancies has been also recently theorized on the basis of in vitro studies.
Objective:
To investigate whether any correlation existed between 5-LO immunoexpression amount and the quantity of neoangiogenesis, as reflected by microvessel density (MVD) in human sporadic surgically resected colorectal adenocarcinomas.
Design:
A total of 45 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded colorectal adenocarcinomas were submitted to the immunohistochemical procedures for 5-LO and CD105, which represent specific markers for neoangiogenesis and which were used in the assessment of MVD.
Results:
CD105-positive, intratumoral, newly formed vessels were present in 45 of 45 cases with variable MVD values. A 5-LO-positive immunohistochemical reaction was also found in 45 of 45 cases. A significantly higher MVD was evident in cases displaying a high 5-LO amount in comparison with those characterized by a low 5-LO expression (28.33 vs 19.44 vessels per mm(2); P = .02). In addition, a positive significant correlation emerged between 5-LO immunoexpression amount and the MVD counts (r = 0.2986, P = .04).
Conclusions:
Our study demonstrates the existence of a relationship between 5-LO expression and the neoangiogenesis process as reflected by intratumoral MVD in human sporadic colorectal adenocarcinomas, thus suggesting that 5-LO may modulate the formation of blood vessels in these neoplasias.
