Correlations between endothelial cell markers CD31, CD34 and CD105 in colorectal carcinoma.

PURPOSE: Colorectal carcinoma is an important cause of mortality worldwide. The fact that tumor growth is dependent on angiogenesis has supported researches for new prognostic parameters and the development of novel therapeutic strategies. Accordingly, we sought to evaluate angiogenesis quantitatively by assessing microvessel density in colorectal cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The blood vessels stained with CD31, CD34 and CD105 were counted, and we reported their number per square millimeter in order to obtain microvascular density (MVD). Then, we aimed at comparing the performance of three endothelial cell markers (CD31, CD34, and CD105) on formalin-fixed tissues from 58 patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer. RESULTS: Following the comparison of the average effective vessels marked with the three markers, Student's t-test showed that the mean number of blood vessels marked with CD34 is higher than the blood vessels marked with CD31 and CD105. A significant difference that has been registered between the three levels of the T stage was found in the patients in our study, in terms of value marker CD105, ANOVA p=0.049, which returns to a value <0.05. Quick time decreases the pT stage, the observed differences being close to statistical significance. However, the result of ANOVA test does not allow us to say that differences can be generalized and not just a particular result, valid only for the study group, p=0.061 >0.05. There is a significant difference between patients with stage T, in terms of value: hemoglobin (ANOVA p<0.001), hematocrit (ANOVA p<0.001), mean corpuscular volume (MCV) (ANOVA p<0.001), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) (ANOVA p=0.002 <0.01 - significant difference with 99% confidence). By calculating the Pearson's correlation coefficient for the relationship CD31-CD105, we obtained a value r=0.440, which corresponds to p=0.0013 <0.05, indicating a statistically noteworthy direct correlation between the two factors. CONCLUSIONS: CD31 marker increases simultaneously with the CD105, in the cases analyzed throughout the present study. The ability of tumors to maintain a high vascular blood density in their inner portions may represent a reliable parameter to evaluate tumor angiogenesis and a finding relevant for future development of therapeutic angiogenesis strategies.

Visceral and tissular reactivity in acute heart failure due to supraventricular tachyarrhythmia in a young patient.

Observation of major pathological alterations in a young person involves etiological and clinical justifications, in order to properly assess, treat and control these conditions. The aim of this paper is to present severe, acute pathological lesions, installed in a young person, secondary to hypodiastolic heart failure, due to persistent supraventricular tachyarrhythmia, triggered by a post-traumatic external stimulus, with complete remission post-electrical conversion. Pathological and clinical modification are revealed, in a young person, shortly after a minor thoracic trauma, in the absence of traumatic injury but with high-frequency palpitations onset and progressive installation of vascular, visceral and interstitial stasis modifications, as well as of vascular and tissular hypoperfusion with reactive vasoconstriction. These clinical and paraclinical aspects were: stasis hepatomegaly with hepatojugular reflux, pulmonary congestion with stasis rales, peripheral edema, transudative polyserositis - pericarditis, hydrothorax, ascites, dilatation of inferior vena cava and suprahepatic veins, decrease of arterial blood pressure, tissue and cutaneous vasoconstriction. Anatomical and clinical aspects, with major alterations (Vth degree hepatomegaly, polyserositis, peripheral edema, tachyarrhythmic heart contractions, hypotension, pallor accentuated by vasoconstriction) acutely installed in a previously healthy young person, require a rapid lesions diagnosis and emergency treatment due to vital risk, control of acute heart failure manifestations remission and proper monitoring. Differential diagnosis was focused on determining possible aspects like: acute heart failure (of various etiology), internal post-traumatic lesions or hemorrhages, tuberculosis polyserositis, collagenosis, nephrotic syndrome, protein deficiencies, neoplasia with hepatic determinations, hematological diseases (lymphomas, leukemias), considered in young patients. Severe visceral, vascular and tissular pathological alterations were reactively induced in a young person, by stasis and hypoperfusion due to hypodiastolic heart failure caused by persistent supraventricular tachyarrhythmia triggered post-traumatic, on a proarrhythmic structural heart.

The influence of irradiation on autophagy process in normal and malignant colorectal epithelia.

AIM: The authors assessed the influence of preoperative radiotherapy on autophagy process using a quantitative assessment of LC3 expression on both normal and tumoral colorectal tissues. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Normal and malignant tissue samples were taken from 50 patients that underwent surgery for colorectal adenocarcinoma of which 11 received preoperative radiotherapy. Tissue samples were included in paraffin and sections were immunomarked for LC3 expression. LC3 percentage was assessed with dedicated software on 10 randomly selected fields with 40× objective from both normal and malignant tissue samples of each patient. The resulting data were assessed and compared with a statistical apparatus. RESULTS: LC3 was overexpressed in tumoral tissue as compared with normal one. The LC3 percentage is different from person to person and the higher it is in normal epithelium, the higher will be in tumoral epithelium of the same person, regardless the irradiation. The LC3 expression levels are decreasing from tumoral non-irradiated epithelia to normal irradiated epithelia. LC3 expression in tumoral cells is granular, with particular perinuclear disposal and often "annular" pattern. CONCLUSIONS: The autophagy process has a basal level in the normal tissue, with interindividual variability. The autophagy process proved to be upregulated in the tumoral cells, with a particular morphological expression, namely the presence of cytoplasmic coarse granules disposed in an "annular" pattern. Preoperative radiotherapy is downregulating the autophagy process both in normal and tumoral tissue but to a lesser extent in the latter.

Analysis of prognostic factors in colorectal carcinoma.

UNLABELLED: Colorectal cancer is one of the most common malignancies in development countries. The purpose of this study was to analyze the epidemiologic profiles of the disease, to examine the results of survival at five years after diagnosis and how it was influenced by pathological aspects. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In collaboration with Oncologic Clinic all colorectal cancer diagnosed from January 2002 to December 2006 were included in the study. Medical records of patients were retrieved and we note: age, residence, diagnosis date, grade, and stage and histology variables. Then were analyzed prognosis and survival at 5 years of patients related to these parameters. RESULTS: A total of 238 patients with colorectal cancer were identified. The average age at diagnosis was 63.3 years and more than half of cases were men (59%). By the end of the follow-up period 103 patients had died, 66.1% of them representing colon cancer. When analyzing the survival length according to tumor location at the end of the study, we found that are no significant differences between survivals in colic tumors compared to the rectum--53.9 months for right colon, 51.4 months for left colon and 49.5 months for rectum. The majority of tumors were grade II moderately-differentiated tumors 48.7% (116 of cases), and patients with grade I had the best survival, on average of 84.52 months. Tubular forms of colorectal cancer had the best percentage of five years survival (55.81%) being also the highest rate of survival (45.24% months). CONCLUSION: Factors that contribute to a favorable prognosis in colorectal cancer are tubular microscopic form, disease diagnosed in TNM stage I and II, GI and GII grading.