Serum Integrin β1 Levels as a Prognostic Marker in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer

Abstract

Received: January 7, 2011/Accepted: April 27, 2011 Correspondence to: Akiko Kogure Department of Surgery II, Tokyo Women’s Medical University School of Medicine, 8-1Kawada-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8666 , Japan Abstract Aims : In this study, we examined whether the integrin β1 subunit, thought to play an important role in colorectal cancer invasion and metastasis, can be used as a prognostic marker for colorectal cancer. Patients and Methods : The subjects of this study were 86 patients who underwent surgery for colorectal cancer at this department. We measured preoperative serum integrin β1 levels and conducted a 5 year retrospective postoperative study, examining the relationship between integrin β1 levels and survival curves. Results: For patients with postoperative recurrence or metastasis, outcomes were significantly better in those with a preoperative serum integrin β1 level 600 ng/mL than those with <600 ng/mL (p=0.0062). Conclusions: Even in patients with metastases identified preoperatively, outcomes were favourable if preoperative serum integrin β1 levels were high. These results indicate that integrin β1 shows promise as a prognostic marker in metastatic colorectal cancer.