Investigation of suprabasin expression in precancerous lesions and adenocarcinomas of the colon

Colorectal cancers are the third most common type of cancer, and they are the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths. Its incidence is increasing due to lifestyle changes. About 90% of them are adenocarcinomas. The majority of colon adenocarcinomas originate from adenomas, while a smaller proportion develop from the serrated pathway. Adenomas are the most common neoplastic polyps. Hyperplastic polyps are the most common serrated lesion. Suprabasin is a gene whose expression has been identified in keratinocytes in the suprabasal layer of the epidermis, and it has been shown to be a proto-oncogene that has a function in tumor invasion, progression, metastasis and is upregulated in many cancers in recent years. In our study, we aimed to reveal the differences in Suprabasin expression levels in colon adenocarcinomas and precancerous lesions. The study included 45 colon adenocarcinomas (15 well-differentiated, 15 moderately differentiated, 15 poorly differentiated), 45 adenomas (15 tubular adenomas, 15 tubulovillous adenomas, 15 villous adenomas), 15 hyperplastic polyps and 15 normal colonic mucosa samples selected from the archives of our hospital. The immunoreactivity differences between the groups were investigated by applying Suprabasin to the sections immunohistochemically. While the immunoreactivity levels of the well-differentiated, moderately differentiated and poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma groups were statistically significantly higher than the other study groups (p<0.001), no significant difference was found between these groups. When tubular adenoma, tubulovillous adenoma and villous adenoma groups were compared with hyperplastic polyp and control, there was a slight increase in immunoreactivity, but no statistically significant difference was detected. No significant difference was also found between these groups. Similar immunoreactivity was found between hyperplastic polyps and control groups. In conclusion, suprabasin immunoreactivity is significantly increased in colon adenocarcinomas compared to other lesions and normal colonic mucosa. With all these findings, it was evaluated that Suprabasin can be used as a biomarker in differentiating colon adenocarcinomas from precancerous lesions, and that Suprabasin may also have a role in the pathogenesis of adenocarcinoma.