Lack of FAS receptor expression in colorectal cancer patients correlates with high TNM staging

Cancer cells often inhibit the expression of FAS to evade T-cell mediated apoptosis upon HLA-mediated recognition. In this study, we aim to find the prognostic value of FAS expression, next to HLA expression, in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. Colorectal tissue was immunohistochemically stained for the FAS and HLA receptors. Results show that there are significantly more patients with no FAS and HLA expressions in higher stages corresponding with tumor node metastasis (TNM) than in lower stages. Next to TNM stage, the loss of expression of FAS or of both FAS and HLA turns out to have no additional prognostic value.