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Published on: September 25, 2011
RET Protein Expression in Colorectal Cancer; An Immunohistochemical Assessment
Maryam Ashkboos1, Mehdi Nikbakht1, Giti Zarinfard1
1Department of Anatomical Sciences, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
Background:
RET (rearranged during transfection) is a transmembrane receptor tyrosine kinase and a receptor for the GDNF-family ligands. It plays the role of a tumor suppressor in colorectal cancer. Therefore, it is expected that RET gene becomes downregulated in colorectal cancer (CRC). In this study, we evaluated immuno-histochemical expression of RET in CRC and assessed its correlation with some of the clinicopathological features to study the prognostic value in CRC.
Materials And Methods:
In total, 60 cases of colorectal cancer (CRC) from the patients who underwent surgical gastroenterology operations were randomly selected. The samples included one tumor-rich section per case and one adjacent tumor-free section as the normal control for that case. Then, immunohistochemistry (ICH) was performed for RET on all the samples and the expression of RET was analyzed. Furthermore, the correlation of RET with clinicopathological features including age, gender, location of the tumor, grade, and stage was evaluated.
Results:
The expression of RET caused significant downregulation in cancer samples compared to the normal control ones (P = 0.002). This downregulation increased in correlation to both grade and metastasis to lymph nodes (P = 0.03 & 0.02 respectively). However, no correlation was found between the expression of RET and gender as well as location of the tumor.
Conclusion:
RET may be considered as a protein marker in CRC detection and prognosis.
Insights
Rearranged during transfection (RET) protein is downregulated in colorectal cancer (CRC), particularly with higher tumor grade and lymph node metastasis. This suggests RET may serve as a valuable biomarker for CRC detection and prognosis.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Molecular Biology
- Cancer Research
Background:
- Rearranged during transfection (RET) is a receptor tyrosine kinase crucial for cell signaling.
- RET acts as a tumor suppressor in colorectal cancer (CRC).
- Downregulation of RET is anticipated in CRC development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the immunohistochemical expression of RET in CRC.
- To assess the correlation between RET expression and clinicopathological features.
- To determine the prognostic value of RET in CRC.
Main Methods:
- 60 CRC cases and adjacent normal tissues were analyzed.
- Immunohistochemistry (ICH) was employed to evaluate RET expression.
- Correlation analysis was performed with clinicopathological parameters (age, gender, tumor location, grade, stage).
Main Results:
- RET expression was significantly downregulated in CRC tissues compared to normal controls (P=0.002).
- Downregulation of RET correlated with increased tumor grade and lymph node metastasis (P=0.03 and P=0.02, respectively).
- No significant correlation was observed between RET expression and gender or tumor location.
Conclusions:
- RET protein exhibits reduced expression in colorectal cancer.
- RET downregulation is associated with advanced disease characteristics.
- RET shows potential as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for CRC.
