Background: CD10 and CD15 expression has been reported in several tumors. Whether CD10 and CD15 have a role in colorectal mucinous and signet ring adenocarcinoma (MSA) tumorigenesis is not yet known.
Objective: We aimed to investigate the role of CD10 and CD15 expression in mucinous colorectal adenoma-carcinoma sequence (ACS) and determine if there is any clinical and prognostic significance associated with their expression.
Methods: Seventy-five cases of colorectal MSA, and 9 cases of adenoma samples were collected. Manual TMA blocks were constructed and immunohistochemistry for CD10 and CD15 was done.
Results: Compared to adenomas, CD15 expression was significantly higher in MSA (p= 0.002), in contrast to CD10 expression. CD15 positivity was significantly associated with microsatellite stable (MSS) tumors (p= 0.018). The association between CD10 positivity and fungating tumor growth showed marginal significance. Unlike CD10, CD15 positivity showed significant association with overall survival of colorectal MSA patients.
Conclusions: CD15 expression seems to have a role in mucinous colorectal ACS, with significant impact on the survival of MSA patients. Further studies are suggested to identify any genetic alterations that may underlie a potential association with disease progression.
Keywords: CD10; CD15; carcinoma; colorectal; mucinous.