<div>Abstract<p><b>Purpose:</b> The aim of this study was to relate the CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP; characterized by extensive promoter hypermethylation) to cancer-specific survival in colorectal cancer, taking into consideration relevant clinicopathologic factors, such as microsatellite instability (MSI) screening status and the <i>BRAF</i> V600E mutation.</p><p><b>Experimental Design:</b> Archival tumor samples from 190 patients from the Northern Sweden Health and Disease Study (NSHDS) and 414 patients from the Colorectal Cancer in Umeå Study (CRUMS), including 574 with cancer-specific survival data, were analyzed for an eight-gene CIMP panel using quantitative real-time PCR (MethyLight). MSI screening status was assessed by immunohistochemistry.</p><p><b>Results:</b> CIMP-low patients had a shorter cancer-specific survival compared with CIMP-negative patients (multivariate hazard ratio in NSHDS, 2.01; 95% confidence interval, 1.20-3.37; multivariate hazard ratio in CRUMS, 1.48; 95% confidence interval, 1.00-2.22). This result was similar in subgroups based on MSI screening status and was statistically significant in microsatellite stable (MSS) tumors in NSHDS. For CIMP-high patients, a shorter cancer-specific survival compared with CIMP-negative patients was observed in the MSS subgroup. Statistical significance was lost after adjusting for the <i>BRAF</i> mutation, but the main findings were generally unaffected.</p><p><b>Conclusions:</b> In this study, we found a poor prognosis in CIMP-low patients regardless of MSI screening status, and in CIMP-high patients with MSS. Although not consistently statistically significant, these results were consistent in two separate patient groups and emphasize the potential importance of CIMP and MSI status in colorectal cancer research. Clin Cancer Res; 16(6); 1845–55</p></div>
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. As you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.
<p>PDF file - 127K, Relative risks (RR-s)* and 95% confidence intervals (CI-s) of colorectal cancer associated with a doubling in leptin and sOB-R concentrations, by subgroups, the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), 1992-2003</p>
<p>PDF file - 80K, Relative risks (RR-s) and 95% confidence intervals (CI-s) of colon, rectal and colorectal cancer according to quintiles of free leptin index (FLI), the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), 1992-2003</p>
General and abdominal adiposity are associated with a high risk of developing colorectal cancer (CRC), but the role of these exposures on cancer survival has been less studied. The association between pre-diagnostic anthropometric characteristics and CRC-specific and all-cause death was examined among 3,924 men and women diagnosed with CRC between 1992 and 2009 in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Over a mean follow-up period of 49 months, 1,309 deaths occurred of which 1,043 (79.7%) were due to CRC. In multivariable analysis, pre-diagnostic BMI ≥ 30 kg/m(2) was associated with a high risk for CRC-specific (HR = 1.26, 95% CI = 1.04-1.52) and all-cause (HR = 1.32, 95% CI = 1.12-1.56) death relative to BMI <25 kg/m(2). Every 5 kg/m(2) increase in BMI was associated with a high risk for CRC-specific (HR = 1.10, 95% CI = 1.02-1.19) and all-cause death (HR = 1.12, 95% CI = 1.05-1.20); and every 10 cm increase in waist circumference was associated with a high risk for CRC-specific (HR = 1.09, 95% CI = 1.02-1.16) and all-cause death (HR = 1.11, 95% CI = 1.05-1.18). Similar associations were observed for waist-to-hip and waist-to-height ratios. Height was not associated with CRC-specific or all-cause death. Associations tended to be stronger among men than in women. Possible interactions by age at diagnosis, cancer stage, tumour location, and hormone replacement therapy use among postmenopausal women were noted. Pre-diagnostic general and abdominal adiposity are associated with lower survival after CRC diagnosis.
Physical activity improves survival, reduces postoperative complications, and reduces the risk of developing colon cancer. It is important to maintain physical activity after receiving a diagnosis of colon cancer to improve postoperative recovery. Individuals who are physically active and diagnosed with colon cancer presumably have different motivations to maintain physical activity compared to their sedentary counterparts.Enlighten how the diagnosis of colon cancer might affect physically active individuals in their attitude and experiences towards physical activity.A qualitative study using content analysis was conducted in northern Sweden based on semi-structured telephone interviews of twenty patients diagnosed with colon cancer. All participants met the recommendations for physical activity issued by the World Health Organization.Participants were between 50 and 88 years and 50% were male. Three main categories were identified: I'll fight the cancer and come out stronger; The diagnosis makes no difference; and The diagnosis is an obstacle for physical activity. These main categories represent the ways the individuals reacted to the diagnosis of colon cancer regarding their physical activity.Attitudes to and experience of physical activity after colon cancer diagnosis varied from a will to increase physical activity and fight the cancer, to the diagnosis putting a stop to physical activity. It is important that healthcare professionals recommend physical activity even in already physically active individuals, to encourage continued physical activity after diagnosis of colon cancer.
Formulae display:?Mathematical formulae have been encoded as MathML and are displayed in this HTML version using MathJax in order to improve their display. Uncheck the box to turn MathJax off. This feature requires Javascript. Click on a formula to zoom.
An active stroma is important for cancer cell invasion and metastasis. We investigated the expression of fibroblast activation protein (FAP) in relation to patient prognosis in colorectal cancer. Colorectal cancer specimens from 449 patients were immunohistochemically stained with a FAP antibody and evaluated in the tumor center and tumor front using a semiquantitative four-level scale. FAP was expressed by fibroblasts in 85-90 % of the tumors examined. High versus no/low expression in the tumor center was associated with poor prognosis (multivariate hazard ratio, HR = 1.72; 95 % CI 1.07-2.77, p = 0.025). FAP expression in the tumor front, though more frequent than in the tumor center, was not associated with prognosis. FAP expression in the tumor center was more common in specimens with positive microsatellite instability (MSI) screening status and in patients with high CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP) status. However, inclusion of MSI screening status and CIMP status in the multivariate analysis strengthened the risk estimates for high FAP expression in the tumor center (HR = 1.89; 95 % CI 1.13-3.14; p = 0.014), emphasizing the role of FAP as an independent prognostic factor. Stromal FAP expression is common in colorectal cancer, and we conclude that high FAP expression in the tumor center, but not the tumor front, is an independent negative prognostic factor.