Sialyl Lewis X expression in vascular permeating lesions as a factor for predicting colorectal cancer metastasis

BACKGROUND/AIMS: To evaluate the potential of sialyl Lewis X (SLX) expression for predicting residual liver recurrence, we examined the vascular permeating lesions surrounding the metastatic liver tumors for SLX as a marker of residual liver recurrence. METHODOLOGY: Twenty-eight cases of metastatic liver tumors of colorectal cancers were examined using SLX monoclonal antibody for SLX expression in surrounding vascular permeating lesions. RESULTS: The cumulative residual liver recurrence rate in cases positive for SLX (SLX(+)) expression in the vascular permeating lesions surrounding the metastatic liver tumor was significantly higher than in the negative cases (p<0.05). Furthermore, logistic regression analysis revealed that SLX positivity in the lesions surrounding the metastatic liver tumor was an important discriminant for residual liver recurrence (p=0.0197). CONCLUSIONS: These results indicated that SLX expression in vascular permeating lesions surrounding the metastatic liver tumor is a predictive factor for residual liver recurrence.