Original Article
Mod Pathol 2001;14(11):1126–1132
Integrin 
v
3 Expression in Colon Carcinoma Correlates with Survival
Alain Vonlaufen M.D.1, Guido Wiedle Ph.D.1, Bettina Borisch M.D.1, Stefan Birrer M.D.2, Peter Luder M.D.3 and Beat A Imhof Ph.D.1
- 1Department of Pathology, Centre Médical Universitaire, Geneva, Switzerland
- 2Department of Surgery, Tiefenauspital, Bern, Switzerland
- 3Department of Surgery, Sonnenhofklinik, Bern, Switzerland
Correspondence: Beat A. Imhof, Department of Pathology, Centre Médical Universitaire 1, rue Michel Servet, CH 1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland; e-mail: beat.imhof@medecine.unige.ch; fax: 41 22 70 25 746.
Accepted 6 July 2001.
Abstract
Integrin 
v
3 is expressed by newly formed blood vessels in diseased and neoplastic tissue and can therefore be used as a marker for angiogenesis. We investigated its expression on the vasculature of 40 colon carcinomas using the anti-v3-specific monoclonal antibody LM609. The average relapse-free interval and overall survival in patients suffering from colon carcinomas with high vascular expression of v3 integrin was significantly reduced compared with that in patients with low v3 integrin expressing tumor vasculature. Moreover, the expression level of v3 integrin correlated with the presence of liver metastases. In conclusion, we propose vascular expression of v3 integrin as a prognostic indicator for colon carcinoma.
Keywords:
v3 integrin, Carcinoma, Endothelium, Survival
