Does colorectal cancer clinical advancement affect adhesion molecules (sP-selectin, sE-selectin and ICAM-1) concentration?

Adhesion molecules take part in physiological and pathological processes. They involved in inflammatory reactions and play important role in tumor invasion and the development of metastases. Soluble forms of P-selectin, E-selectin and ICAM-1 have been described in this study in patient with colorectal cancer. Plasma was obtained from 44 patients with colorectal cancer and 34 control subject's prior surgery, by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The patients were divided according to TNM classification. Plasma level of all three molecules was significantly higher in colorectal cancer patients than in the control (p < 0.001). The highest level of sE-selectin and ICAM-1 were observed in patients with liver metastasis. There was no correlation between sP-selectin and sE-selectin, but we found a significant correlation between sE-selectin and ICAM-1 in all patients. These findings suggest that plasma concentration of E-selectin and ICAM-1 may indicate tumor progression and liver metastasis.