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The prevalence and clinical significance of chromogranin A and secretogranin II immunoreactivity in colorectal adenocarcinomas

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Abstract

Colorectal adenocarcinomas may display features of endocrine differentiation, shown by argyrophil stains and by the expression of endocrine markers such as chromogranin A. We investigated chromogranin A and secretogranin II immunoreactivity in a series of 208 carcinomas of the large bowel to assess the prevalence and clinical significance of endocrine differentiation. Tumours expressing endocrine markers were classified as low expressors (< than 1 immunoreactive tumour cell/mm2) and high expressors (> than 1 immunoreactive tumour cell/mm2). There were 33 (16%) carcinomas showing both chromogranin A and secretogranin II immunoreactivity: 11 tumours (5%) were high expressors. Endocrine differentiation was not related to the disease stage, tumour location, grade, DNA ploidy and p53 protein accumulation. In the entire series chromogranin A immunoreactivity did not provide prognostic information using univariate and multivariate analysis. A worse overall survival (P=0.048) was demonstrated for the stage III patients with high expressor tumours, but there were only five patients in this group. The results of our investigation suggest that chromogranin A immunoreactivity is not a useful variable in the prognostic assessment of colorectal adenocarcinomas.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomic Pathology (II), IRCCS Ospedale Maggiore, Milan, Italy

    S. Ferrero, R. Buffa & G. Pruneri

  2. DIBIT, Ospedale San Raffaele, Milan, Italy

    A. Siccardi & M. Pelagi

  3. Department of Pathology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    A. Lee

  4. Department of Pathology, University of Milan School of Medicine, Ospedale San Paolo, Via di Rudini 8, I-20142, Milano, Italy

    G. Coggi

  5. Department of Pathology, University of Milan School of Medicine, Milan, Italy

    S. Bosari

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  1. S. Ferrero
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  2. R. Buffa
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  3. G. Pruneri
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  4. A. Siccardi
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  5. M. Pelagi
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  6. A. Lee
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  7. G. Coggi
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  8. S. Bosari
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Ferrero, S., Buffa, R., Pruneri, G. et al. The prevalence and clinical significance of chromogranin A and secretogranin II immunoreactivity in colorectal adenocarcinomas. Vichows Archiv A Pathol Anat 426, 587–592 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00192113

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00192113

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