Abstract
Aims
The proteases PAI‐1 and uPA play a major role in extracellular matrix degradation, which facilitates tumour progression. Tumour budding is a histomorphological expression of enhanced tumour cell migration.
Materials and Methods
To investigate their prognostic value for and correlation with colon cancer, a prospective study was performed. We analysed tissue levels of uPA and PAI‐1 of 55 colon cancer tumours employing a commercially available enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Tumour budding was analysed on cytokeratin‐stained slides.
Results
There was a strong correlation between uPA and tumour budding (R = 0.440; P < 0.001). uPA levels were increased in high grade tumours, whereas PAI‐1 was elevated in cases with venous invasion (P = 0.004 and P = 0.028). PAI‐1 values and tumour budding are associated significantly with the occurrence of distant metastases (P < 0.001 and P = 0.034, respectively). Tumour budding was significantly associated with lymph node metastases (P = 0.034). Multivariate analysis revealed PAI‐1 and lymph node metastases to be independently predictive of distant metastases (P = 0.007 and P = 0.004, respectively).
Conclusions
The results of our study show that tumour budding and the plasmin/plasminogen system are related. PAI‐1 was independently predictive for the occurrence of distant metastasis. J. Surg. Oncol. 2010;102:235–241. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.