Journal of Gastrointestinal & Digestive System
Open Access

Research Article

IGF-2 Growth Factor Expression in Human Rectal Adenocarcinoma

¹Department of Internal Medicine, HELIOS Hospital Wuppertal, Wuppertal, 42283, Germany

²Department of Pathology, HELIOS Hospital Wuppertal, Wuppertal, 42283, Germany

³Department of Paediatrics, HELIOS Hospital Wuppertal, Wuppertal, 42283, Germany

⁴Department of Surgery, HELIOS Hospital Wuppertal, Wuppertal, 42283, Germany

Corresponding Author:

Prof. Dr. Christian Prinz
Department of Internal Medicine
HELIOS Hospital Wuppertal, Wuppertal, 42283, Germany
Tel: 0049-202-896-2243
E-mail: christian.prinz@helios-kliniken.de

Received Date: June 20, 2016; Accepted Date: July 01, 2016; Published Date: July 04, 2016

Citation: Weber D, Gödde D, Postberg J, Zirngibl H, Prinz C (2016) IGF-2 Growth Factor Expression in Human Rectal Adenocarcinoma. J Gastrointest Dig Syst 6:451. doi:10.4172/2161-069X.1000451

Copyright: © 2016 Weber D, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Background and objective: The study determined growth factor gene expression obtained from patients undergoing curative total mesorectal excision (TME) between 2009 and 2016 at the Helios Klinikum Wuppertal; Germany (total of n=44). Methods: Rectal cancers were grouped according to Lauren’s classification (UICC I-IV stages); overall survival (OS) and progression free survival (PFS). 25 patients were in UICC III/IV stages, while 19 patients were in UICC I/II stages. VEGF-A/B/C/D, PDGF-A, EGF, IGF-1/2, and corresponding receptor subtypes 1/2 mRNA enrichment was determined using quantitative real-time PCR. Data were correlated to clinical outcome. Results: The obtained results show that VEGF-B and IGF-2 mRNA were significantly higher expressed in rectal adenocarcinoma than adjacent normal tissues, while other GF genes were not significantly affected. IGF-2 levels were further upregulated in advanced stages UICC III/IV where patients received radiotherapy. Patients with good response to neoadjuvant radiotherapy (as determined by the histological Dworak regression score) had significant better overall survival. Expression of microRNA miR-483 (a known microRNA molecule previously associated with IGF-2 expression) was evaluated by TaqMAN PCR, but no significant correlation to IGF-2 levels was detected. Conclusions: IGF-2 appears as a biomarker of rectal adenocarcinoma, but does not serve as predictive parameter for tumor progression or survival. The results encourage further development of biomarkers targeting IGF-2 molecules in blood or urine. Furthermore, IGF-2 levels are increased in patients undergoing radiotherapy and thus, IGF related molecules might also serve as predictors for response to neoadjuvant therapy in rectal adenocarcinoma.

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