Immunohistochemical analysis of statin in colorectal adenocarcinoma, polyps, and normal mucosa

The search for an understanding of the kinetics of the malignant cell is an ongoing focus of research. The aim of the present study was to determine whether there were any differences in the expression of statin, a nonproliferation-specific nuclear protein, among different colorectal tissues and whether there is any relationship between statin presence and neoplastic aggressivity.

The study population consisted of specimens from 19 patients who underwent resection for carcinoma, one for villous adenoma, and seven for colonoscopic polypectomies. Tissue samples were taken from the center of the specimen and from mucosa 10 cm from the lesion.

Statin immunoreactivity was evaluated by counting stained nuclei in ten randomly chosen fields, and percent of positive cells was calculated. Average percentage of statin-positive cells was 34.33 +/- 6.81 in the normal crypt, 44.42 +/- 7.28 for polyps, and 7.74 +/- 5.67 for carcinomas (significantly lower than normal mucosa and polyps; P < 0.001).

Statin expression is dramatically diminished in invasive carcinoma tissue, but it did not help determine aggressivity with respect to Dukes stage.