Class III β-Tubulin in Colorectal Cancer: Tissue Distribution and Clinical Analysis of Chinese Patients

BACKGROUND: Class III β-tubulin (βIII-tubulin) has been reported to express at the invasive margin of colorectal cancer. The present study aimed to investigate the clinical implication of βIII-tubulin expression at the invasive margin of colorectal cancer. MATERIAL/METHODS: We recruited 111 patients with surgically resected colorectal carcinoma for βIII-tubulin expression analysis. The cases with βIII-tubulin-positive tumor cells found only in the invasive front tumor area were assigned to the invasive front group, while the remaining cases were all assigned to the non-invasive front group. Clinical analysis of βIII-tubulin and other clinical data was performed. RESULTS: The positive staining rates and staining intensity of βIII-tubulin were significantly different between the invasive and non-invasive front groups (p=0.001 and p=0.006), and there was a significant difference in tumor differentiation between the 2 groups (p=0.032). In the non-invasive front group, staining intensity of βIII-tubulin was significantly associated with positive staining rates and lymphatic metastasis (p<0.001 and p=0.048). CONCLUSIONS: Our data showed the tissue distribution of βIII-tubulin expression at invasive margin or diffuse distribution. Expression of βIII-tubulin was correlated with tumor differentiation and lymphatic metastasis, suggesting a potential role of βIII-tubulin in tumor differentiation and metastasis. This study may shed light on βIII-tubulin as a novel potential molecular target for a new anti-cancer drug.