Clinicopathological significance of nuclear factor‐kappa B, HIF‐1 alpha, and vascular endothelial growth factor expression in stage III colorectal cancer

Nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB), hypoxia-inducible factor 1alpha (HIF-1alpha), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) are involved in cell proliferation, invasion, angiogenesis, and metastases. The principal objective of this study was to assess the prognostic significance of NF-kappaB, HIF-1alpha, and VEGF expression in stage III colorectal cancer. Tumor tissues from 148 patients with stage III colorectal carcinoma, all of whom underwent potentially curative resection, were immunohistochemically evaluated using monoclonal antibodies against NF-kappaB, HIF-1alpha, and VEGF. Positivity rates of NF-kappaB, HIF-1alpha, and VEGF were 47.3%, 42.6%, and 61.5%, respectively. NF-kappaB expression in tumor tissues was correlated significantly with HIF-1alpha expression (P < 0.001), VEGF expression (P = 0.044), and the presence of vascular invasion (P = 0.013). Univariate analysis demonstrated that NF-kappaB expression was associated with poor 5-year overall survival (55.8 months vs 76.9 months, P = 0.012). Multivariate analysis verified that NF-kappaB was independently associated with adverse outcomes (relative risk: 1.92, P = 0.049). However, HIF-1alpha and VEGF did not appear to be related to clinical outcomes. NF-kappaB expression in tumor tissue is associated with angiogenesis and poor 5-year overall survival in stage III colorectal cancer patients.