Evaluation of Vimentin Expression in Colorectal Cancer and Its Association With Prognostic Factors

Abstract

Vimentin is a cellular marker that has recently been considered in the prognosis of colorectal cancer (CRC), and its expression appears to indicate increased malignancy. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of vimentin in CRC patients and its association with prognostic factors. This retrospective study was performed on CRC patients who had undergone colectomy at Imam Khomeini Hospital, Ahvaz, Iran, in 2019 and 2020. Data around the microscopic degree of the tumor differentiation and the status of lymph node involvement were extracted from the patients' pathology reports. Immunohistochemistry staining for vimentin was performed on biopsy specimens, and its expression was assessed and compared in both CRC specimens and normal colon tissues. Appropriate statistics were used with P<0.05 considered as statistically significant. Out of 31 CRC patients, vimentin expression was moderate-positive in 20 (64.5%) and strong-positive in 11 patients (35.5%). Mean percentage of stained cells, the intensity of staining, and vimentin expression in the immunohistochemistry evaluations had no significant relationship with tumor grade and tumor invasion rate (P>0.05), but they showed a significant relationship with lymph node involvement (P<0.05) and mean percentage of stained cells, the intensity of staining, and expression of vimentin marker increased with increasing lymph node involvement. In the normal tissue samples, 5 out of 30 samples showed weak-to-moderate vimentin expression. Vimentin expression was significantly associated with lymph node involvement; however, further studies with larger sample sizes are required to determine its probable association with other prognostic variables.