Sialyl Lewis X expression in vascular permeating lesions as a factor for predicting colorectal cancer metastasis

BACKGROUND/AIMS: To evaluate the potential of sial-vl Lewis X (SLX) express ion for predicting residual liver recurrence, we examined the vascular perm eating lesions surrounding the metastatic liver tumors for SLX as a marker of residual liver recurrence. METHODOLOGY: Twenty-eight cases of metastatic liver tumors of colorectal ca ncers were examined using SLX monoclonal antibody for SLX expression in sur rounding vascular permeating lesions. RESULTS: The cumulative residual liver recurrence rate in cases positive fo r SLX (SLX(+)) expression in the vascular permeating lesions surrounding th e metastatic liver tumor was significantly higher than in the negative case s (p<0.05). Furthermore, logistic regression analysis revealed that SLX pos itivity in the lesions surrounding the metastatic liver tumor was an import ant discriminant for residual liver recurrence (p=0.0197). CONCLUSIONS: These results indicated that SLX expression in vascular permea ting lesions surrounding the metastatic liver tumor is a predictive factor for residual liver recurrence.