Abstract
Objective: Several studies indicate that macrophage migration inhibitory factor 1 plays a role for tumor progression in colon cancer. We investigated whether determination of migration inhibitory factor 1 mRNA expression levels in lymph nodes of colon cancer patients could be used as a prognostic marker. Methods: Expression levels of migration inhibitory factor 1 and carcinoembryonic antigen mRNAs were assessed in primary tumors and regional lymph nodes of 123 colon cancer patients (stages I–IV), and in colon cancer- and immune cell lines using quantitative reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction. Expression of migration inhibitory factor 1 protein was investigated by two-color immunohistochemistry and immunomorphometry. Results: Migration inhibitory factor 1 mRNA was expressed at 60 times higher levels in primary colon cancer tumors compared to normal colonic tissue (medians 8.2 and 0.2 mRNA copies/18S rRNA unit; p <.0001). A highly significant difference in mRNA expression levels was found between hematoxylin-eosin positive lymph nodes and hematoxylin-eosin negative lymph nodes (p <.0001). Migration inhibitory factor 1 and carcinoembryonic antigen proteins were simultaneously expressed in many colon cancer-tumor cells. Kaplan–Meier survival model and hazard ratio analysis, using a cutoff level at 2.19 mRNA copies/18S rRNA unit, revealed that patients with lymph nodes expressing high levels of migration inhibitory factor 1 mRNA had a 3.5-fold (p =.04) higher risk for recurrence, associated with a small, but significant, difference in mean survival time (7 months, p =.03) at 12 years of follow-up. Conclusion: Although migration inhibitory factor 1 mRNA expression levels were related to severity of disease and lymph node analysis revealed that colon cancer patients with high levels had a shorter survival time after surgery than those with low levels, the difference was small and probably not useful in clinical practice.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Tumor Biology |
| Volume | 42 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2020 |
Subject classification (UKÄ)
- Cancer and Oncology
Free keywords
- carcinoembryonic antigen
- colon cancer
- cumulative survival curves; recurrence risk
- disseminated tumor cells
- immunofluorescence
- immunohistochemistry
- immunomorphometry
- Macrophage migration inhibitory factor
- quantitative reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction
