Circulating Prostaglandin Biosynthesis in Colorectal Cancer and Potential Clinical Significance.
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 25750933.
- Also identified by PMC identifier 4347518.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Colorectal cancer (CRC) represents the third leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States. Lack of reliable biomarkers remains a critical issue for early detection of CRC. In this study, we investigated the potential predictive values of circulating prostaglandin (PG) biosynthesis in CRC risk. Profiles of circulating PG biosynthesis and platelet counts were determined in healthy subjects (n = 16), familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) patients who were classified as regular aspirin users (n = 14) or nonusers (n = 24), and CRC patients with (n = 18) or without FAP history (n = 20). Immunohistochemistry staining was performed on biopsy samples. Analysis of circulating PG biosynthesis unexpectedly revealed that CRC progression is accompanied by a pronounced elevation of circulating thromboxane A2 (TXA<sub>2</sub>) levels. When a circulating TXA<sub>2</sub> level of 1000 pg/mL was selected as a practical cutoff point, 95% of CRC patients were successfully identified. Further study suggested that the TXA<sub>2</sub> pathway is constitutively activated during colorectal tumorigenesis and required for anchorage-independent growth of colon cancer cells. This study established the importance of the TXA<sub>2</sub> pathway in CRC pathophysiology, and laid the groundwork for introducing a TXA<sub>2</sub>-targeting strategy to CRC prevention, early detection and management.