Aberrant expression of trefoil factor 3 is associated with colorectal carcinoma metastasis

Recent evidence has indicated that the trefoil factor family possesses pivotal roles in the progression of human cancer. Aberrant expression of trefoil factor 3 (TFF3) has been reported to correlate with an aggressive tumor phenotype. However, the clinical importance of TFF3 expression in colorectal carcinomas (CRCs) has rarely been addressed.

To investigate the putative role of TFF3 in colorectal carcinogenesis and progress, and to clarify whether TFF3 could be a serum marker for CRCs.

Fifty-six CRCs were sequenced for TFF3 mutations; subsets of the primary tumors were subjected to real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry analyses and serum TFF3 was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for patients with CRCs.

No variants were detected in the code area of TFF3; TFF3 mRNA is increased in CRCs but not up to statistic significance when compared with paired normal colonic mucosa; TFF3 staining by immunohistochemistry in primary CRCs showed that increased expression of TFF3 is associated with lymph node metastases(LNM), and no significant differences were found with respect to patient's sex, cancer cell differentiation and stage. Serum TFF3 is significantly elevated in patients with CRCs, especially CRCs with LNM.

The results indicate that TFF3 point mutations seem to be a rare event in colorectal carcinogenesis; TFF3 expression may play a role in promoting lymph node metastases of CRCs and serum TFF3 may be a potential useful marker for patients with CRCs and their metastases.