Stathmin expression in metastatic colorectal cancer.

Objectives: To evaluate the relationship between stathmin expression and clinical outcome in colorectal cancer (CRC).

Background: Stathmin is a phosphoprotein involved in the regulation of microtubule dynamics and integration of intracellular signaling pathways. Stathmin has been implicated in the tumorigenesis of several cancers and is a potential therapeutic target.

Methods: Stathmin expression was evaluated in 25 metastatic CRC (mCRC) patients by immunohistochemistry (IHC). Ki67 IHC and TUNEL assay were also evaluated in mCRC for cell proliferation and apoptosis.

Results: High expression of stathmin was correlated with CRC metastasis (p = .0084), and significantly worse overall survival (OS) in CRC patients (p = .036). There was a significant increase in cell proliferation and a decrease in apoptosis in liver metastasis compared with CRC primary tumors as determined by Ki67 IHC and TUNEL assay (p < .0001). We also observed a significant positive correlation between stathmin level and cell proliferation in both CRC primary tumor and liver metastasis (p = .0429 to 0.0451; r = .4236 to .4288).

Conclusion: Stathmin expression correlated with worse patient prognosis in mCRC patients and positively correlated with increased cell proliferation. Together, our findings indicate stathmin as a novel potential marker for increased risk of CRC-specific mortality and identify stathmin as an attractive therapeutic target for the treatment of mCRC.