Aim: To analyze the clinicopathologic and prognostic significance of Leucine-rich repeat-containing G-protein-coupled receptor 5 (LGR5), a cancer stem cell marker expression in a cohort of colorectal cancer patients (CRC).
Patients & methods: A total of 76 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue blocks of primary or metastatic tumors from 49 CRC patients were collected for duration 2009-2015. LGR5 expression was assessed through immunohistochemical staining of a tissue microarray.
Results: LGR5 was significantly over expressed in CRC tissue samples and found to be a statistically significant independent prognostic marker for an improved overall survival.
Conclusion: LGR5 expression was higher in colorectal cancer than in normal tissue. LGR5 was an independent prognostic marker for better clinical outcomes and might be used as a potential therapeutic target in CRCs.
Keywords: LGR5; Leucine-rich repeat-containing G-protein-coupled receptor 5; biomarkers; cancer stem cell marker; colorectal cancer; immunohistochemistry; metastatic; overall survival; tissue microarray; tumor stage.
© 2020 Chukwuemeka Ihemelandu.