Caveolin-1 as a prognostic marker for local control after preoperative chemoradiation therapy in rectal cancer

Caveolin-1 is a protein marker for caveolae organelles and has an essential impact on cellular signal transduction pathways (e.g., receptor tyrosine kinases, adhesion molecules, and G-protein-coupled receptors). In the present study, we investigated the expression of caveolin-1 in patients with rectal adenocarcinoma and correlated its expression pattern with the risk for disease recurrences after preoperative chemoradiation therapy (CRT) and surgical resection.

Caveolin-1 mRNA and protein expression were evaluated by Affymetrix microarray analysis (n = 20) and immunohistochemistry (n = 44) on pretreatment biopsy samples of patients with locally advanced adenocarcinoma of the rectum, and were correlated with clinical and histopathologic characteristics as well as with 5-year rates of local failure and overall survival.

A significantly decreased median caveolin-1 intracellular mRNA level was observed in tumor biopsy samples as compared with noncancerous mucosa. Individual mRNA levels and immunohistologic staining, however, revealed an overexpression in 7 of 20 patients (35%) and 17 of 44 patients (38.6%), respectively. Based on immunohistochemical evaluation, local control rates at 5 years for patients with tumors showing low caveolin-1 expression were significantly better than for patients with high caveolin-1-expressing carcinoma cells (p = 0.05; 92%, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] = 82-102% vs. 72%, 95% CI = 49-84%). A low caveolin-1 protein expression was also significantly related to an increased overall survival rate (p = 0.05; 45%, 95% CI 16-60% vs. 82%, 95% CI = 67-97%).

Caveolin-1 may provide a novel prognostic marker for local control and survival after preoperative CRT and surgical resection in rectal cancer.