Expression of EZH2 and Ki-67 in colorectal cancer and associations with treatment response and prognosis
Phase 2 or 3 results paper on EZH2 in Colorectal cancer, in British Journal of Cancer (2009), one of the most cited Europe PMC records with EZH2 in its title.
Overview
Background: Enhancer of zeste homologue 2 (EZH2) is a member of the Polycomb group of genes that is involved in epigenetic silencing and cell cycle regulation.
Methods: We studied EZH2 expression in 409 patients with colorectal cancer stages II and III. The patients were included in a randomised study, and treated with surgery alone or surgery followed by adjuvant chemotherapy.
Results: EZH2 expression was significantly related to increased tumour cell proliferation, as assessed by Ki-67 expression. In colon cancer, strong EZH2 expression (P=0.041) and high proliferation (>or=40%; P=0.001) were both associated with better relapse-free survival (RFS). In contrast, no such associations were found among rectal cancers. High Ki-67 staining was associated with improved RFS in colon cancer patients who received adjuvant chemotherapy (P=0.001), but not among those who were treated by surgery alone (P=0.087). In colon cancers stage III, a significant association between RFS and randomisation group was found in patients with high proliferation (P=0.046), but not in patients with low proliferation (P=0.26). Multivariate analyses of colon cancers showed that stage III (hazard ratio (HR) 4.00) and high histological grade (HR 1.80) were independent predictors of reduced RFS, whereas high proliferation indicated improved RFS (HR 0.55).
Conclusion: Strong EZH2 expression and high proliferation are associated features and both indicate improved RFS in colon cancer, but not so in rectal cancer.
Indexed on Europe PMC as PubMed record 19773751 (DOI 10.1038/sj.bjc.6605333). Its title names EZH2 and its text names Colorectal cancer; PubMed types it as a clinical trial report (other, Randomized Controlled Trial). It was matched automatically to the idea "Unmask hidden antigens with a short epigenetic course before immunotherapy" and no figure has been checked by an editor.
One of the most cited trial reports Europe PMC returns for EZH2 in Colorectal cancer, so it is a natural first reading for anyone weighing the idea it is linked from. The record was linked automatically by title and abstract; read the abstract above and the paper itself before relying on any figure.
- Matched by EZH2 in the title and Colorectal cancer in the title or abstract of the Europe PMC record; the summary reproduces the record's abstract and no figure has been verified against the full paper.
- Chosen as a phase 2 or 3 report by the record's publication type or its own wording, not by reading the paper.