Clusterin expression is associated with decreased disease-free survival of patients with colorectal carcinomas.

ABSTRACT

AIMS: It has been demonstrated that increased clusterin expression is involved in malignant progression and that anticlusterin treatment leads to selective apoptosis. The aim of this study was to determine the clinicopathological significance of clusterin expression in human colorectal carcinomas. METHODS AND RESULTS: The expression of clusterin was examined in 31 adenomas and 103 colorectal carcinomas. Normal epithelial cells were always negative for clusterin expression, but clusterin expression was present in 16% (5/31) of adenomas and this percentage increased in colorectal carcinomas (30%, 31/103). Immunopositivity always presented an apical cytoplasmic pattern. The expression level of clusterin did not correlate with age, gender, grade or stage. However, its expression was significantly associated with a decrease in disease-free survival (P < 0.05). In a multivariate Cox proportional hazards model, clusterin expression remained a significant independent predictor. CONCLUSIONS: Clusterin expression may have a role in colonic carcinogenesis and may help identify patients with more aggressive tumours who may benefit from targeted therapy.