Abstract 4901
Background
A tumour suppressive role for EPHB receptors in various malignancies has been described, however their expression profile and prognostic significance in human colorectal cancers (CRCs) remain unclear. In this study, we aimed to investigate the expression profile of EPHB3 during CRC progression and determined its prognostic impact in a large cohort of CRC samples.
Methods
We examined the EPHB3 mRNA levels by real time PCR with fresh frozen CRC samples and evaluated protein expression by immunohistochemistry with tissue microarrays containing various benign tumours and 610 CRC samples. AOM-DSS induced colitis model was used to investigate the EPHB3 expression profile during the colitis-associated carcinogenesis.
Results
EPHB3 expression was upregulated in CRCs than in normal colonic mucosa, and showed positive correlations with intestinal stem cell (ISC) markers (EPHB2, OLFM4, LRIG1) and CD44, a candidate cancer stem cell marker. EPHB3 positivity was observed in 24% of 610 CRCs and showed negative correlations with differentiation, lympho-vascular invasions and TNM stages. EPHB3 expression significantly declined during adenoma-carcinoma transition and invasion into deeper layers. In particular, a substantial reduction of EPHB3 was observed in the budding cancer cells at the invasive fronts. In AOM-DSS induced colitis-associated colon cancer model, EPHB3 expression increased along with tumor development. Notably, EPHB3 was positively associated with microsatellite instability (MSI) phenotype but was not associated with CpG island methylator phenotype, KRAS and BRAF mutations. Furthermore, EPHB3 positivity was a prognostic marker for better clinical outcomes in CRC patients.
Conclusions
EPHB3 was upregulated in CRCs and showed positive correlations with candidate cancer stem cell marker CD44. EPHB3 expression decreased during adenoma-carcinoma transition and particularly in the budding cancer cells at the invasive fronts. EPHB3 positivity was associated with MSI phenotype and demonstrated to be a good prognostic marker in CRCs.
Clinical trial identification
Editorial acknowledgement
Legal entity responsible for the study
The authors.
Funding
Has not received any funding.
Disclosure
All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.
Resources from the same session
5205 - Immune status of patients with different stages of colorectal cancer with and without circulating tumor cells
Presenter: Anastasia Sitkovskaya
Session: Poster Display session 2
Resources:
Abstract
5658 - Detection of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine in Circulating-Free DNA for Early Diagnosis of Colorectal Cancer
Presenter: Tianyu Liu
Session: Poster Display session 2
Resources:
Abstract
5779 - Detection of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine in Circulating-Free DNA for Prediction of The Efficacy of Conversion Therapy for Colorectal Cancer Liver Metastases
Presenter: Wenju Chang
Session: Poster Display session 2
Resources:
Abstract
4672 - mCRC gene profiling using the Idylla platform
Presenter: Christopher Bricogne
Session: Poster Display session 2
Resources:
Abstract
3393 - PIK3CA mutation in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC): association with clinico-pathological features and outcome
Presenter: Valentina Fanotto
Session: Poster Display session 2
Resources:
Abstract
1317 - Patient-Derived Xenografts (PDX) Identifies JMJD6 Inhibitor as an Effective Therapeutic Medicine in Colorectal Cancer.
Presenter: Feng Ye
Session: Poster Display session 2
Resources:
Abstract
1228 - DACH1 induced stemness of intestinal organoids by directly suppressing BMP signaling and contributes to intestinal tumorigenesis
Presenter: Xiang Hu
Session: Poster Display session 2
Resources:
Abstract
1147 - miR-148a inhibits early relapsed colorectal cancers and the secretion of VEGF by indirectly targeting HIF-1α under non-hypoxia/hypoxia conditions
Presenter: Hsiang-lin Tsai
Session: Poster Display session 2
Resources:
Abstract
1158 - Long noncoding RNA CASC21 promotes cell proliferation and metastasis in colon cancer.
Presenter: Qun Zhang
Session: Poster Display session 2
Resources:
Abstract
1259 - Prognostic and Predictive Impact On FMS-like Tyrosine Kinase 3 (FLT3) Amplification In Patients With Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
Presenter: Hiroko Hasegawa
Session: Poster Display session 2
Resources:
Abstract