ELEVATED SERUM E-SELECTIN IN PATIENTS WITH LIVER METASTASES OF COLORECTAL-CANCER

E-selectin, an endothelial cell adhesion molecule, mediates the initia l step of leucocyte adhesion to activated vascular endothelium. The so luble isoform of E-selectin promotes angiogenesis in rat cornea. In th e present study, we investigated whether leucocyte adhesion and angiog enesis are also involved in tumour progression and metastasis of color ectal cancer. Therefore, we determined the level of circulating solubl e E-selectin in serum samples of 38 patients with colorectal cancer; 2 0 patients with non-metastatic and 18 patients with metastatic disease . Median levels of soluble E-selectin were found to be significantly h igher in metastatic tumour disease (88.7 ng/ml, range 25-203 ng/ml) th an in healthy controls (34.9 ng/ml, range 15-59 ng/ml, P=0.01), in pat ients with primary tumours or with local recurrences (39.5 ng/ml, rang e 22-100 ng/ml). Furthermore, there was no correlation with the serum level of C-reactive protein, fibrinogen or tumour necrosis factor alph a suggesting that the elevation of E-selectin is independent of inflam mation in tumour patients. Therefore, we propose that elevated soluble E-selectin may reflect increased neovascularisation in metastatic tum our tissue. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.