Naila Irum Hadi, Kazi Abdul Shakoor, Bushra Waseem.
Is mucin content a prognostic indicator in colorectal carcinoma?.
J Surg Pak Jan ;14(1):7-10.

Objective: To evaluate the mucin profile of colorectal adenocarcinoma by means of a histochemical study and to correlate mucin content and histological grade vis-à-vis prognosis. Study design: Descriptive study. Place & Duration of study Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre Karachi, from August 2004 to August 2007. Patients and Methods: Seventy patients who underwent surgical resection of sporadic colorectal denocarcinoma over a 3-year period were evaluated for histological classification as to mucinous (MUC) or a non-mucinous (nMUC) subtype. They were further divided by histological differentiation into low-grade and high-grade tumors. The two groups were compared in terms of mucin content by histochemical techniques. Relationship between mucin content and histological grade was also analyzed. Results On the basis of mucin content all cases were divided into mucinous (MUC; n = 14; 20%) and non- mucinous (nMUC; n = 56; 80%) adenocarcinomas. The predominant mucin on histochemistry of colorectal adenocarcinoma ( nMUC and MUC) was sialomucin. Tumors were further graded histologically into low-grade (85.71%) and high-grade (14.28%). MUC adenocarcinoms showed a higher proportion of high grade tumors. Conclusions Both MUC and nMUC are distinct histological subtypes of colorectal adenocarcinoma. No relationship could be established between pattern of mucin secretion and histological differentiation, however there is a definite relationship between mucin content and histological grade. It could be concluded from this study that mucin content vis-à-vis histologic grade have an influence on prognosis. Further elucidation and follow-up is needed.

PakMediNet -Pakistan's largest Database of Pakistani Medical Journals - http://www.pakmedinet.com