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CEACAM5, KLK6, SLC35D3, POSTN, and MUC2 mRNA Analysis Improves Detection and Allows Characterization of Tumor Cells in Lymph Nodes of Patients Who Have Colon Cancer

Olsson, Lina M. ; Lindmark, Gudrun E. LU ; Israelsson, Anne C.E. ; Korkocic, Dejan ; Hammarström, Sten G. and Hammarström, Marie Louise K.C. (2021) In Diseases of the Colon and Rectum 64(11). p.1354-1363
Abstract

BACKGROUND: Lymph node metastasis is the single most important prognostic risk factor for recurrence in patients with colon cancer who have undergone curative surgery. The routine method for detecting disseminated tumor cells in lymph nodes is microscopic examination of one or a few hematoxylin and eosin-stained tissue sections by a trained pathologist. This method, however, is insensitive mainly because less than 1% of the lymph node volume is examined, leading to misclassification. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate whether analysis of a selected group of biomarker mRNAs improves detection and characterization of lymph node metastases/micrometastases compared with the routine method. DESIGN: This study is a side-by-side... (More)

BACKGROUND: Lymph node metastasis is the single most important prognostic risk factor for recurrence in patients with colon cancer who have undergone curative surgery. The routine method for detecting disseminated tumor cells in lymph nodes is microscopic examination of one or a few hematoxylin and eosin-stained tissue sections by a trained pathologist. This method, however, is insensitive mainly because less than 1% of the lymph node volume is examined, leading to misclassification. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate whether analysis of a selected group of biomarker mRNAs improves detection and characterization of lymph node metastases/micrometastases compared with the routine method. DESIGN: This study is a side-by-side comparison of biomarker mRNA analysis and histopathology of 185 lymph nodes from patients with colon cancer representing stages I to IV, and an investigation of the importance of lymph node tissue volume for tumor cell detection. SETTINGS: This is a collaborative study between a high-volume central hospital and a preclinical university institution. PATIENTS: Fifty-seven patients who had undergone tumor resection for colon cancer were included. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcomes measured were mRNA copies per 18S rRNA copy of CEACAM5, KLK6, SLC35D3, POSTN, and MUC2 by multiplex assay and metastases/micrometastases detected by histopathology. RESULTS: The number of tumor cell-positive lymph nodes was 1.33-fold higher based on CEACAM5 mRNA levels compared with histopathological examination. Increasing the tissue volume analyzed for CEACAM5 levels from an 80-µm section to half a lymph node increased the number of positive nodes from 34 of 107 to 80 of 107 (p < 0.0001). Similarly, the number of positive nodes for the aggressiveness marker KLK6 increased from 9 of 107 to 24 of 107. LIMITATIONS: Only a limited number of individual lymph nodes per patient was available for analysis. CONCLUSIONS: mRNA analysis of CEACAM5, KLK6, and SLC35D3 improves the detection of tumor cells in lymph nodes from patients surgically treated for colon cancer, and, together with POSTN and MUC2, it further allows characterization of the tumor cells with respect to aggressiveness and the tumor cell environment. See Video Abstract at http://links.lww.com/DCR/B650.

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; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Biomarker mRNA expression levels, Carcinoembryonic antigen, Hematoxylin-eosin staining, Lymph node metastasis, Side-by-side comparison
in
Diseases of the Colon and Rectum
volume
64
issue
11
pages
10 pages
publisher
Springer
external identifiers
  • pmid:34192710
  • scopus:85117370441
ISSN
0012-3706
DOI
10.1097/DCR.0000000000002151
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © 2021 Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. All rights reserved.
id
a39ff073-c8d2-4ea7-a990-4d623af492dd
date added to LUP
2022-01-13 11:29:22
date last changed
2024-05-05 18:40:12
@article{a39ff073-c8d2-4ea7-a990-4d623af492dd,
  abstract     = {{<p>BACKGROUND: Lymph node metastasis is the single most important prognostic risk factor for recurrence in patients with colon cancer who have undergone curative surgery. The routine method for detecting disseminated tumor cells in lymph nodes is microscopic examination of one or a few hematoxylin and eosin-stained tissue sections by a trained pathologist. This method, however, is insensitive mainly because less than 1% of the lymph node volume is examined, leading to misclassification. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate whether analysis of a selected group of biomarker mRNAs improves detection and characterization of lymph node metastases/micrometastases compared with the routine method. DESIGN: This study is a side-by-side comparison of biomarker mRNA analysis and histopathology of 185 lymph nodes from patients with colon cancer representing stages I to IV, and an investigation of the importance of lymph node tissue volume for tumor cell detection. SETTINGS: This is a collaborative study between a high-volume central hospital and a preclinical university institution. PATIENTS: Fifty-seven patients who had undergone tumor resection for colon cancer were included. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcomes measured were mRNA copies per 18S rRNA copy of CEACAM5, KLK6, SLC35D3, POSTN, and MUC2 by multiplex assay and metastases/micrometastases detected by histopathology. RESULTS: The number of tumor cell-positive lymph nodes was 1.33-fold higher based on CEACAM5 mRNA levels compared with histopathological examination. Increasing the tissue volume analyzed for CEACAM5 levels from an 80-µm section to half a lymph node increased the number of positive nodes from 34 of 107 to 80 of 107 (p &lt; 0.0001). Similarly, the number of positive nodes for the aggressiveness marker KLK6 increased from 9 of 107 to 24 of 107. LIMITATIONS: Only a limited number of individual lymph nodes per patient was available for analysis. CONCLUSIONS: mRNA analysis of CEACAM5, KLK6, and SLC35D3 improves the detection of tumor cells in lymph nodes from patients surgically treated for colon cancer, and, together with POSTN and MUC2, it further allows characterization of the tumor cells with respect to aggressiveness and the tumor cell environment. See Video Abstract at http://links.lww.com/DCR/B650.</p>}},
  author       = {{Olsson, Lina M. and Lindmark, Gudrun E. and Israelsson, Anne C.E. and Korkocic, Dejan and Hammarström, Sten G. and Hammarström, Marie Louise K.C.}},
  issn         = {{0012-3706}},
  keywords     = {{Biomarker mRNA expression levels; Carcinoembryonic antigen; Hematoxylin-eosin staining; Lymph node metastasis; Side-by-side comparison}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{11}},
  number       = {{11}},
  pages        = {{1354--1363}},
  publisher    = {{Springer}},
  series       = {{Diseases of the Colon and Rectum}},
  title        = {{CEACAM5, KLK6, SLC35D3, POSTN, and MUC2 mRNA Analysis Improves Detection and Allows Characterization of Tumor Cells in Lymph Nodes of Patients Who Have Colon Cancer}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/DCR.0000000000002151}},
  doi          = {{10.1097/DCR.0000000000002151}},
  volume       = {{64}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}