Serum level of soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 is a valuable prognostic marker in colorectal carcinoma

PURPOSE

Vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 plays an important role in solid tumor enlargement and/or metastasis. This study evaluated the clinical significance of measuring serum levels of soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 in colorectal cancer and aimed to clarify the biologic significance of its local expression.

METHODS

Serum was collected from 161 patients with colorectal cancer and 26 healthy volunteers. Cancer tissue was collected from 128 patients. The level of soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 in serum and cancer tissue was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

RESULTS

The mean soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 level in patients was significantly higher than that in control subjects. Elevated serum soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 was significantly associated with clinicopathologic parameters such as tumor size, lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, and poor prognosis. In Cox multivariate analysis, distant metastasis and elevated serum soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 level were independent risk factors predicting poor prognosis. The prognosis for Stage 2 patients positive for soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 was comparable to that for Stage 3 patients. In addition, the serum level of soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 level was correlated negatively with the cancer tissue level.

CONCLUSION

The preoperative level of soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 level reflected disease progression and was a sensitive biomarker for colorectal cancer, especially Stage 2 disease.