Circulating form of human vascular adhesion protein-1 (VAP-1): decreased serum levels in progression of colorectal cancer and predictive marker of lymphatic and hepatic metastasis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Vascular adhesion protein-1 (VAP-1) is an endothelial cell molecule that controls leukocyte tissue infiltration. Elevated serum soluble VAP-1 (sVAP-1) has been described in certain diseases with an inflammatory component. However, sVAP-1 expression or function has not been studied in colorectal cancer. The present study determined the relationships between preoperative serum sVAP-1 and clinicopathological features and prognosis in colorectal cancer.
METHODS: One hundred patients with histologically proven colorectal cancer and 33 normal volunteers were included. Preoperative serum was collected, and sVAP-1 levels were assayed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
RESULTS: Mean sVAP-1 level in patients was significantly higher than in controls, and decreased with disease progression. Mean sVAP-1 level was significantly correlated with venous invasion, lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis including hepatic metastasis, and advanced TNM classification. Furthermore, sVAP-1 was an independent marker for predicting lymph node or hepatic metastasis. Prognosis of patients with a lower sVAP-1 level was significantly worse than those with elevated sVAP-1.
CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative low sVAP-1 level is associated with poor prognosis in colorectal cancer. Measuring serum sVAP-1 may provide valuable information in predicting patients with lymph node or hepatic metastasis.