Evaluation of cereblon expression in gastrointestinal tract tumors

Abstract

Abstract Purpose: This retrospective study has aimed to determine the possible prognostic significance of cereblon (CRBN) expression in gastrointestinal tract tumors. Methods: In this study, cases of gastrointestinal tract tumors including neuroendocrine tumors (n:38), gastric adenocarcinomas (n:152) and colorectal carcinomas (n:87) diagnosed in the Pathology Laboratory of Tepecik Training and Research Hospital between 2008 and 2018 were evaluated. We investigated the presence of CRBN protein expression in tumor tissues using IHC staining. The relationship between CRBN expression and various prognostic factors was analyzed. Results: Most of the cases were male (n=179, 64.6%). The mean age of the patients was 60.5± 13.1 years. Overall survival in malignant cases was 30.5±21.8 months, with the shortest survival of 24.7 months in gastric carcinomas. CRBN expression was detected in 92 (33.2%) cases. CRBN positivity rates were highest in neuroendocrine carcinomas (55.6%) and lowest in gastric carcinomas (22.4%). The presence of CRBN expression was statistically significantly different among tumor types (p<0.001). When each group was evaluated separately, a statistically significant relationship was detected between CRBN expression and survival only in gastric carcinomas (p= 0.036). However, contrary to expectations, survival was shorter in patients with CRBN- positive tumors. Conclusion: In cancer treatment, it is very important to identify new targeted treatment options, especially for aggressive tumor types. Since some currently used immunomodulatory drugs target CRBN protein, the use of immunomodulatory drugs may be considered in addition to current therapies in the treatment of solid tumors expressing high levels of CRBN.