Correlation of CXCR4 expressions with lymphatic and hepatic metastasis in colorectal carcinoma

OBJECTIVE:To investigate the expression of chemokine receptor CXCR4 in colorectal carcinoma and its correlation with the clinicopathologic characteristics and prognosis.METHODS:The expression of chemokine receptor CXCR4 protein in colorectal carcinoma tissues obtained from 64 patients who underwent radical resection,20 normal colorectal tissues,34 local lymphatic metastasis carcinomar tissues and 18 hepatic metastasis tissues was detected by immunohistochemistry.Simultaneously,the expression of chemokine receptor CXCR4 mRNA in 4 colorectal carcinoma cell lines was examined by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction.RESULTS:Two of 4 colorectal carcinoma cell lines expressed CXCR4 mRNA.The positive rates of CXCR4 in normal colorectal,colorectal carcinoma tissues,cocal lymphatic metastasis carcinomar tissues,and hepatic metastasis tissues were 15.0%,51.6%,72.2% and 73.5%,which were correlated with lymph node metastasis,clinical staging and liver metastasis(P0.05),but not with the sex and age of patients,tumor location,T staging,and pathological types.Three-year survival rate in CXCR4 positive group was significantly lower than that in CXCR4 negative group.CONCLUSION:Positive expression of CXCR4 by colorectal cancer cells is significantly associated with lymphatic and hepatic metastasis in patients with colorectal cancer,and may be used as a potential predictive factor for the prognosis of colorectal cancer.