Department of Colorectal Surgery, Cancer Hospital of China Medical University, Liaoning Cancer Hospital & Institute, No. 44 Xiaoheyan Road, Dadong District, Shenyang, 110042, Liaoning Province, China.
Department of Radiation Oncology Gastrointestinal and Urinary and Musculoskeletal Cancer, Cancer Hospital of China Medical University, Liaoning Cancer Hospital & Institute, No. 44 Xiaoheyan Road, Dadong District, Shenyang, 110042, Liaoning Province, China.
World J Surg Oncol. 2023 Mar 10;21(1):89. doi: 10.1186/s12957-023-02952-8.
Neuroendocrine differentiation (NED) is often found in colorectal cancer (CRC) and may have unique biological behavior, which has not been previously delineated. Here, we explore the relationship between CRC, NED, and clinicopathological factors. We also offer a preliminary explanation of the mechanism underlying the malignant biological behavior of NED in CRC.
Between 2013 and 2015, 394 CRC patients who underwent radical operations were selected for analysis. The relationship between NED and clinicopathological factors was analyzed. To further clarify the pivotal role of NED in CRC, we performed bioinformatic analyses and identified genes that may be involved in NED, which were obtained from in silico data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Then, we conducted functional enrichment analyses and confirmed the critical pathways for intensive study. Moreover, we detected the expression of key proteins by immunohistochemistry and analyzed the correlation of their expression with NED.
The statistical analysis showed that CRC with NED was positively correlated with lymph node metastasis. Through bioinformatic analysis, we found that chromogranin A (CgA) was positively correlated with invasion and lymph node metastasis. ErbB2 and PIK3R1, which are key proteins in the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, were closely related to NED. Furthermore, we determined that the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway likely plays a critical role in the NED of CRC.
CRC with NED is associated with lymph node metastasis. The PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, which is closely related to CRC, may be the mechanism promoting the malignant biological behavior of CRC with NED.
神经内分泌分化（NED）在结直肠癌（CRC）中经常被发现，可能具有独特的生物学行为，但其尚未被明确描述。在此，我们探讨 CRC、NED 与临床病理因素之间的关系。我们还初步解释了 NED 在 CRC 中恶性生物学行为的潜在机制。
2013 年至 2015 年期间，选择了 394 例接受根治性手术的 CRC 患者进行分析。分析 NED 与临床病理因素之间的关系。为了进一步阐明 NED 在 CRC 中的关键作用，我们进行了生物信息学分析，并从癌症基因组图谱（TCGA）数据库的计算机数据中确定了可能参与 NED 的基因。然后，我们进行了功能富集分析，并确定了关键途径进行深入研究。此外，我们通过免疫组织化学检测关键蛋白的表达，并分析其表达与 NED 的相关性。
统计分析表明，具有 NED 的 CRC 与淋巴结转移呈正相关。通过生物信息学分析，我们发现嗜铬粒蛋白 A（CgA）与侵袭和淋巴结转移呈正相关。PI3K-Akt 信号通路中的关键蛋白 ErbB2 和 PIK3R1 与 NED 密切相关。此外，我们确定 PI3K-Akt 信号通路可能在 CRC 的 NED 中发挥关键作用。
具有 NED 的 CRC 与淋巴结转移有关。与 CRC 密切相关的 PI3K-Akt 信号通路可能是促进具有 NED 的 CRC 恶性生物学行为的机制。
