Human chorionic gonadotropin in colorectal carcinoma an immunohistochemical study

Abstract

To assess the biological significance of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) detection in large bowel carcinomas, we have studied immunohistochemically 50 colorectal carcinomas, 20 adenomas, 8 ulcerative colitis, and 10 normal colonic mucosae. The HCG-immunoreactive cells were found in 26 carcinomas (52%). Positivity was not detected in any normal mucosa or benign lesions. Cells containing HCG predominated in mucinous (80%) and poorly differentiated carcinomas (92%). No trophoblastic differentiation could be demonstrated in any tumor. Human chorionic gonadotropin was detected more frequently in carcinomas invading the entire bowel wall (67%) than in those confined to the submucosa or muscularis propria (30%). Fifteen of 19 cases (79%) with lymph node and/or hepatic metastases had HCG in the primary tumor, whereas only 9 of 23 cases (32%) without metastases showed HCG immunoreactivity. The eight patients with hepatic metastases had HCG in the primary tumor. Thus, the immunohistochemical detection of HCG in colorectal carcinomas may be a biological marker of prognostic significance.

Human chorionic gonadotropin in colorectal cancer and its relationship to prognosis

“…Ito & Tahara (1983) reported that the rate of metastasis was high and prognosis was poor in cases of hCG-producing gastric cancer. It has been claimed that hCG-positive large bowel cancers show severe local invasion and high rates of lymph node metastasis (Campo et al, 1987). In our study, the presence of hCG-positive tumour cells was associated with aggressive local invasion and the presence of metatases.…”

“…The presence of hCG in cancer tissues has been demonstrated in some patients with colorectal cancer by the immunohistochemical method. According to this report, the presence of hCG-positive cells was associated with greater local invasion and the presence of lymph node and liver metastases (Campo et al, 1987). We have, therefore, studied the incidence of hCG in colorectal cancers and correlated its presence with a variety of clinicopathological parameters.…”

Tissue expression of human chorionic gonadotropin ? predicts outcome in colorectal cancer: A comparison with serum expression

“…Within the Dukes' stages, hCG-positive tumors carried a worse prognosis but the differences in survival were not statistically significant. In other reports, expression of hCG␤ has been associated directly with reduced survival 21,25 and indirectly through a correlation with poor histological differentiation, 19 tumor invasiveness 18,19,25 and a higher incidence of metastases. 22 However, no correlation between hCG␤ staining and survival was found in 2 studies.…”

“…We did not observe a correlation between hCG␤ and histological differentiation, which was reported in a previous study. 19 In our study, immunohistochemical expression of hCG␤ was compared with previously reported serum levels of the same patients. hCG␤ in tumor tissue, like in serum, emerged as a prognostic factor in both uni-and multivariate analyses.…”

“…12,17,30,31 The usefulness of hCG as a prognostic marker in colorectal cancer is also undetermined. Some immunohistochemical studies suggest that it is, 21 or may be, 18,19,22,25 a prognostic marker in colorectal cancer, while in 2 studies it was of no prognostic value. 20,24 Most studies have found no association between elevated serum levels of hCG and aggressive tumor behavior in colorectal cancer.…”