Most Crohn’s disease-associated small bowel carcinomas (CrD-SBCs) are diagnosed in advanced stage and have poor prognosis. To improve diagnosis and therapy, a better knowledge of tumour precancerous lesions, histotypes and prognostic factors is needed. We investigated histologically and immunohistochemically 52 CrD-SBCs and 51 small bowel carcinomas unrelated to inflammatory disease, together with their tumour-associated mucosa, looking for Crohn-selective changes. Histologic patterns and phenotypic markers potentially predictive of CrD-SBC histogenesis and prognosis were analysed. Cytokeratin 7 or MUC5AC-positive metaplastic changes were found in about half of investigated CrD-SBCs, significantly more frequently than in CrD-unrelated SBCs. They correlated with metaplastic changes of their associated mucosa, while being absent in normal ileal mucosa. Histologic patterns suggestive for progression of some cytokeratin 7 and/or MUC5AC-positive metaplastic lesions into cancer of the same phenotype were also observed. Patient survival analyses showed that tumour cytokeratin 7 or MUC5AC expression and non-cohesive histotype were adverse prognostic factors at univariable analysis, while cytokeratin 7 and non-cohesive histotype were also found to predict worse survival in stage- and age-inclusive multivariable analyses. Besides conventional dysplasia, hyperplasia-like non-conventional lesions were observed in CrD-SBC-associated mucosa, with patterns suggestive for a histogenetic link with adjacent cancer. In conclusion the cytokeratin 7 and/or MUC5AC-positive metaplastic foci and the non-conventional growths may have a role in cancer histogenesis, while tumour cytokeratin 7 and non-cohesive histotype may also predict poor patient survival. Present findings are worth being considered in future prospective histogenetic and clinical studies.
About The Expert
Giovanni Arpa
Alessandro Vanoli
Federica Grillo
Roberto Fiocca
Catherine Klersy
Daniela Furlan
Fausto Sessa
Sandro Ardizzone
Gianluca Sampietro
Maria Cristina Macciomei
Gabriella Nesi
Francesco Tonelli
Carlo Capella
Giovanni Latella
Antonio Ciardi
Roberto Caronna
Marco Vincenzo Lenti
Rachele Ciccocioppo
Valeria Barresi
Deborah Malvi
Antonietta D’Errico
Fernando Rizzello
Gilberto Poggioli
Claudia Mescoli
Massimo Rugge
Ombretta Luinetti
Marco Paulli
Antonio Di Sabatino
Enrico Solcia
References
PubMed