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Predictive utility of cyclo-oxygenase-2 expression by colon and rectal cancer
Kristel C Lobo Prabhu1, Lan Vu1, Simon K Chan2
1Department of Surgery, St Paul's Hospital and University of British Columbia, Room C303, Burrard Building, 1081 Burrard Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Background:
Cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-2), an inducible enzyme expressed in areas of inflammation, is a target of interest for colorectal cancer therapy. Currently, the predictive significance of COX-2 in colorectal cancer remains unclear.
Methods:
Tissue microarrays were constructed using 118 colon cancer and 85 rectal cancer specimens; 44 synchronous metastatic colon cancer and 22 rectal cancer lymph nodes were also evaluated. COX-2 expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry. Univariate analysis was used to determine the predictive significance of clinicopathologic variables. Overall survival, disease-specific survival, and disease-free survival were the main outcomes examined.
Results:
COX-2 was found to be expressed in 93% of colon cancers and 87% of rectal cancers. Decreased COX-2 expression was related to decreased disease-specific survival (P = .016) and decreased disease-free survival (P = .019) in the rectal cancer cohort but not in the colon cancer cohort.
Conclusions:
COX-2 expression has predictive utility for management of rectal but not colon cancer.
